The Immortal Princess
by Metallic Snow
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia has always lived thinking that her life was the exact definition of perfection. She had a loving father, caring childhood friend, Natsu to fangirl over, and perfect grades. But one day, she learns that her so-called perfect life was a lie. Natsu Dragneel is the school's idol. As a young child, his father passed away early, turning his loving mother into a drunkard.
1. Chapter 1: Lucy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

There he is again. At exactly twelve-thirty on Fridays, he would sit at that cherry tree and stare into the sky as he eats his lunch by himself. Those beautiful jet black eyes that stares into the blue sky with spots of clouds that the sun pierces through. That salmon pink hair that he brushes wildly whenever he gets embarrassed. Just flawless.

Ah, yes! I apologize for my rudeness! I should introduce myself! My name is Lucy Heartfilia, president of the **Prince Natsu Fan Club**! I am a junior at Fairy High! Um… My hobbies are watching Natsu from afar and um… well… I don't know, taking pictures of Natsu when he isn't watching? No, I am not a stalker. People call me that all the time but I am not, at least I don't think so.

I stare at him again. He is messing up his salmon pink hair, tangling it. My face starts to flush just by watching him. Ah… Natsu Dragneel! He is just perfect! Did I mention that he is the captain of the football team even though he is only a junior?

And the school uniform looks utterly gorgeous on him! It's a black blazer with a green tie. For pants, it is a nice gray color. On other guys, the uniform looks totally dull and ugly but on Natsu… wonderfully magnifying!

Suddenly, his face turns to see me. I can feel my face flushing even more wildly as I turn around and run away with all my might. He saw me! Oh no, he's probably going to think I am some stalker, which mind you I am not! What do I do?

I run in a club room and close the door abruptly as I sigh in relief. I got away, just in time too. Hopefully, Natsu didn't get a full view of my face. I look around me to see my fellow club members surrounding me.

"President Lucy!" one of them says. Her name is Virgo. She is skinny with light pink hair. For some reason, she has a weird habit of dressing like a maid. Why? Don't ask me, how am I suppose to know?

"Virgo," I say, "how are the club activities?"

"We have successfully made a video of his daily activities," Virgo replies as she grabs a remote control behind her and turns on a nearby television.

I quickly sit on a nearby sofa and cross my legs together to watch the video in a comfortable position when the school bell rings. Great, time for class. Just when I'm about to finally see the video of Natsu. I sigh as I grab my school bag to get to class. I look at my schedule and smile. The next class is Math. Not that I love math or anything. It's just that math class is the only class I have with Natsume Dragneel.

I look at my watch and almost scream. Thirty-seconds to get to class. Great, I am going to be late again. I quickly run through the hallways as teachers behind me yell at me, saying, "No running in the hall!" However, I ignore them. I rather get yelled at later than be late for my _oh so wonderful_ class with Natsu Dragneel.

I finally arrive to class, just about five seconds early to see the teacher, Ms. Cana Alberona, looking straight at me. I gulp loudly.

Ms. Alberona takes her ruler and hits it over and over again on her hand as if she is about to hit me with that thing. "Lucy Heartfilia, care to explain why you are the last person to come to class?" she asks sternly.

Then I hear a burst of laughter behind me followed by more bursts of laughter. I turn around to see Natsu Dragneel, among my classmates, laughing at me also. I mentally hit myself in frustration. How could I allow myself to embarrass myself in front of Natsu Dragneel again?

"I'm sorry Ms. Alberona," I say as I look at the floor. "I won't be the last to come next time…"

Ms. Alberona sighs and points her ruler to my seat. "Go sit down. I'll start class now."

"Yes Ms. Alberona…" I reply as I slowly go to the back row and sit on my seat. I sit next to my friends Erza Scarlet and Juvia Lockser.

"Lucy, you're late again!" Ezra whispers to me as she giggles. Ezra has really beautiful hair. It is scarlet, just like her last name. Her eyes are brown like mine but they are much more magnifying than mine. I wish I looked like her. She is absolutely beautiful.

I groan and plop my head on my desk. "I was five seconds early though…" I grumble as I sneak a peek at Natsu Dragneel. Looking at him releases my anger towards my annoying teacher and makes me smile. Then I groan when I see who is next to him. It is Lisanna Strauss, his childhood friend. She is definitely my biggest enemy.

"Five seconds?" Juvia says in between giggles. "Even Juvia is faster to get to class than that!" Juvia has ocean blue hair. Her eyes are navy blue, giving her a mysterious look. She has an odd habit of speaking in third-person and has a really creepy addiction to my childhood friend, Gray Fullbuster.

"Class!" Ms. Alberona yells to get everyone's attention. "Please look at the board!" As she talks about the math equations, functions, et cetera, I take notes. As much as I would like to stare at Natsu Dragneel, I have to make sure my grades don't fail. I'm a honor student after all.

After math class, I go to language and then History, and then… Well, you get the idea. Just a bunch of classes. After school, I don't have any more class activities so I would usually go to the front gate to meet my best friend, Gray Fullbuster, who is also my childhood friend as I explained before. Usually, on Mondays, I would have Art Club. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would have Prince Natsu Club and finally on Wednesdays, I would have cheerleading practice. Fridays are free.

As I take my schoolbag out of my locker, I hurriedly put my textbooks that I need in it. Then I slam my locker shut and am about to run to the school gates to walk home with Gray when a hand on my shoulder stops me.

"Hey," says the voice behind me.

I gulp and slowly turn around to see jet black eyes staring into my dark brown eyes. Then I gasp, realizing it is Natsu Dragneel I am looking at. "Ah," I say as I avert my eyes away from his. "H-H-H-Hello, N-N-Natsu!" Then I realize that this is actually the first time I have ever been in contact with Natsu Dragneel, even though I am the president of his fan club.

"You're the one who I saw at the cherry tree today right?" he asks. "I always see you around but I never got the chance to talk to you."

Well, duh. Of course he would see me around all the time! I'm constantly watching his gorgeous self everyday. "Um… Yeah," I say sheepishly as I look at the ground and twirl my thumbs. "Funny… I see you everyday yet I don't even talk to you at all…" Ugh, I think to myself as I steal glances at Natsu. I'm acting so ridiculous in front of him. Blushing, playing with my hair. I'm so disgusting.

Natsu makes his big smile and sticks out his right hand to me. "I'm Natsu Dragneel! And you are?"

My heart begins to do this weird dance as my face flushes red and I stick my hand out too to do a handshake. "Um… I'm Lucy… Lucy Heartfilia…"

He takes my hand and shakes it also. I can't help but stare into his eyes. He is just so magnifying.

"Lucy!" I hear a voice cry behind me. I turn around to see my childhood and best friend, Gray Fullbuster, running towards me.

"I was looking for you everywhere!" he exclaims as he makes a worried facial expression at me. "Where were you? We meet at the front gate on Fridays, remember?" Then Gray makes eye contact with Natsu Dragneel. His worried expression turns into a scowl. Something tells me that he doesn't like Natsu so much. "Oh, hey Natsu," he says.

"Hey Gray!" Natsu replies with his signature bright smile.

I look at Gray, then at Natsu. "You know each other?" I ask.

"Yeah," Gray mumbles, a bit irritation in his voice. "Natsu is the captain of the football team, duh. I'm in the team so of course I would know him."

"R-Right!" I say, remembering that Gray is a member of the football team.

"Oh!" Natsu says suddenly. "So this is the Lucy Heartfilia you are always talking about Gray! So she's the person you lik-"

Gray immediately punches Natsu in the face. His face is flushed with a scarlet red color as he says, "Shut up Natsu, or I'll punch you."

"Ow…" Natsu says as he rubs the part where Gray punched him. "You already punched me anyway!"

Gray suddenly takes my hand and pulls me by his side, away from Natsu. "Come on Lucy, we're going," he says as he drags me away.

"Um… Wait! What about Natsu?" I ask as I look back at Natsu who is looking back at me. I immediately blush and look back at Gray.

"Just leave him," he says as he starts to drag me even faster than before.

I look back at Natsu. He is waving at me, saying, "See you tomorrow, Luce!"

Luce? I think. What in the world is that nickname suppose to mean? What an odd nickname. I take my free hand and wave back at him awkwardly with a smile as Gray drags me away from Natsu.

As Gray drags me away from Natsu, I listen to some girls gossiping behind me. I notice that one of them is that Lisanna Strauss, Natsu's childhood friend. I hate to admit it, but she is really beautiful. Despite the white hair she has that makes her look like an old woman, she has the most wonderful baby blue eyes.

"Geez, I wish she would get the idea already," she says with a laugh.

"I know," a person with black hair replies. She has emerald green eyes. I guess she would be extremely beautiful too if she didn't put so much mascara on her eyes. She looks more like a raccoon than a human with that stuff on. Or maybe more like a panda. She also looks extremely familiar. I begin to think and remember that she is in my history class. What was her name again? Minni? Minerva? That's right, like that Roman god, Minerva.

"That stupid blond hair girl, Lucy Heartfilia," Lisanna says. I cringe at my name. "She thinks she all that! It's obvious that Natsu doesn't like her!"

"I know right!" Minerva replies. "It's basically impossible for a dumb fangirl like her to have Natsu!"

Lisanna breaks into laughter. "So true!" she exclaims.

"Someone as beautiful as you definitely deserves Natsu!" Minerva says as she looks at her polished nails. "Not someone like that stupid blond nerd, Lucy-"

Suddenly, two hands cover my ears. I look to my right to see Gray and force a smile at him. I feel so lucky to have Gray as my best friend. He is always worrying about me. He probably doesn't want me listening to those girls gossiping about me. However, despite his hands covering my ears, I can still slightly hear Lisanna talk. She does have an extremely big mouth after all.

"Lucy… fangirl… stupid… Fangirls never win…" and that's all I hear before Gray drags me to the back of the school.

Once we get far enough from those two gossiping girls, Gray drops his hands off of my ears and puts his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Lucy, you should really quit being the president of the Prince Natsu Fan Club," he says to me.

I look at him with an irritated face. He has told me this countless of times in the past and won't shut up about it. And I've told him countless of times that I wasn't interested in quitting the club. "I told you Gray! I'm not quitting!"

"Look! I know you care about that club a lot!" he says, "But you have to quit! You're getting bullied a lot by the girls thanks to that club!"

"I don't care!" I exclaim as tears begin to fall out of my eyes. "I love that club! I can't quit!" I don't care if I get bullied because of my love for Natsu Dragneel. I don't care. Being in that club means everything to me and I am not going to back down from being the president. "Besides, why do you care so much Gray?" I yell angrily.

"Because I'm in lov-, I mean…" His face turns into a shade of red as he averts his eyes away from my face and sighs. "Look, I'm your best friend! Of course I would care about you…"

"Gray…" I say. I know he is worried about me. I know that very well, but I can't give up. I want to pursue my position as president of the Prince Natsu Fan Club. "I'm sorry," I say.

"It's okay…" Gray says as he takes my right hand. "Come on, let's go home now." Then we walk home together and don't say another word. Gray just doesn't let go of my hand as if he is making sure I'm with him, safe. Once we arrive to my house, he turns around and lets go of my hand.

"Well, see you tomorrow… I guess," he says with a forced smile. I know he is still worried so I make sure to make a joyful smile to cheer him up.

"Okay!" I say, "See you tomorrow!"

Then Gray leaves me and enters the house next to mine. We are neighbors so we usually walk home together when we can. I watch Gray open his house's door and walk inside. I feel bad for not quitting the club for him. I mean, I would do anything for him, after all, he is my best friend, but I just can't give up on Natsu Dragneel. He means everything to me.

_**"****_F_angirls never win…"**_ I remember Lisanna saying, but I shake my head at that thought. I'll show her. I'll show her that I, Lucy Heartfilia, president of the Prince Natsu Club, can win. Just because I'm a fangirl, doesn't mean I'm going to give up.

"I'll show you Lisanna…" I say aloud, "I'll make Natsu fall in love with me!"

**-End of Chapter 1-**

Hello, this is my first Fairy Tail fanfic! Well, I did write another one titled **The Human World**, but that one is based on Gakuen Alice.

Anyway! Thank you for reading! This is a **NALU** fanfic, just in case you didn't notice.

Please review! Thank you!

Also, I do not own the cover image!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	2. Chapter 2: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"Hey! Get up!" I hear a shout next to me. It is probably Gray, but for some reason, the voice doesn't exactly sound right. I groan in frustration and turn to the right of my bed, expecting to see my best friend, Gray, next to me, when I see someone else instead.

"Ah!" I scream. I quickly scoot over to the other side of my bed and look at the strange person in my room. To my surprise, it is Natsu Dragneel. Wait what? Natsu Dragneel? What is he doing in my room? Wait a second, more like, how in the world did he get here?

"Woah, calm down Luce, it's just me, Natsu!" he says as he puts his hand on my shoulder.

Ugh, I can feel my face turning redder by the second. Okay me, I definitely can not embarrass myself this time. "O-Oh," I say, mentally slapping myself for stuttering, "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you. Anyway, um… not to be rude but… How exactly did you get in my house? I mean, we only met yesterday…"

I look at him and notice he is wearing his football team's uniform. Then my eyes widen as I turn to look at the clock. It is eight o'clock and the game starts at nine! And my cheerleading squad is suppose to perform for them!

"Oh, I was getting Gray," Natsu explains. "Then we somehow got into the topic of you and then he said that you lived right next to his house so…" He makes his cheesy smile at me. "Here I am!"

"Lucy! Is Gray up there?" I hear a voice shout from downstairs. It is my father, Jude Heartfilia.

I gulp. "Um… Natsu, you did use the front door, right?" I ask nervously.

Natsu scratches his head and makes a confused expression. He runs his hands through his salmon pink hair nervously. My heart pounds as I see him to this. Oh my gosh, he is so dazzling.

"Um… I'm not sure…" he says as he looks at the oddly opened window of my room. "Oh yeah!" he exclaims. He points to the window. "Your window was open so I went through it!"

I look at him, speechless. I always knew that this guy was crazy but I didn't know he was this crazy. Well, it's okay, because his craziness is another marvelous aspect of him. I sigh in my head and can't help but smile at him.

"Lucy?" my father yells again from downstairs. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine Dad!" I yell back as I scramble out of bed. Then I face Natsu. "Natsu, if my dad finds out you're in my room, I'm screwed!" I hiss at him. Then I think about it for a while. Natsu is in my room. Natsu, the most popular guy in my school, is in my room. My face flushes as I think this. It's Natsu! The guy of my dreams, in my room!

"Okay, okay," Natsu says with a chuckle. "I'll get out now!" he yells as he jogs towards my window and jumps out of my room.

I hear a thud and quickly run to my window in worry. How could he be so reckless like that? He might have broken a bone by just jumping down there! As I look through my window, I sigh in relief. Whew, Natsu is standing on my front lawn, waving goodbye to me. Not even a scratch on him. "See you at the game!" he shouts as he runs to Gray's house.

I sigh as I watch him run to Gray's house. His salmon pink hair is tangling in the wind as he knocks on Gray's door. Then I realize something as I fantasize about him. I mentally punch myself several times. Dang it, I should have taken some pictures of him in my room! Those would definitely be the best memory keepsakes in the world.

Then I look at what I am wearing. I am still in my nightgown which is patterned with cute red dragons. I groan. Just great, he saw me in my pajamas too. What an embarrassment.

I close my eyes, slowly walk back to my bed and slam my body on it. Now I would definitely never get another chance to have him in my room, ever. I just messed up my biggest chance. Stupid Lucy. I even let him see my embarrassing dragon pajamas.

I look at the clock and then at the direction where Gray's house is. Natsu is still probably in his house so I quickly get dressed into my cheerleader captain uniform and race downstairs to eat breakfast. I see my father reading the newspaper and eating a bowl of cereal.

Once my father sees my face, he puts down his newspaper and smiles softly at me. "Ah, Lucy," he says. "You're finally awake!"

"Yeah!" I say in a hurry as I grab a piece of bread, pull a blue hair tie around the side of my hair, and hurriedly put on my shoes. Then I run over to the picture of my mother, Layla Heartfilia. She is the most beautiful woman I know, well rather, knew. I bend down to look at her picture more clearly. "I'll be home soon Mom," I whisper to the picture.

Then I grab the belt which is hung on the hook of the front door and wrap it around my waist. Oh yeah, I guess I should explain why I'm talking to a picture of my mother. My mother passed away when I was two-years-old. I don't know much about her, but the way my father describes her makes me love her a lot. The only keepsake I have from her is this belt I just put around my waist.

The belt is black with twelve golden keys on the right side with odd symbols on the top of each one. The keys apparently do not fit any keyholes so I don't really know what the point is to have them. However, my father tells me to keep the keys with me at all times. Why? Don't ask me! How am I suppose to know?

"Bye Dad!" I shout as I open the front door and race to my neighbor Gray's house. I breathe in the fresh air as I run and feel my blond hair trailing behind me. It feels good to be outside.

As I approach Gray's front door, I knock on it. "Gray!" I shout. "Open up! It's me!"

I wait for a few seconds and see Gray slowly open the door. He is in his football gear also. "Oh, hey Lucy," he says, "Come in."

I walk in to see Natsu and someone else playing video games on Gray's sofa. They are playing some weird racing game. I look at the boy Natsu is playing with. He looks familiar. Then I realize that this was the guy who is playing the games is the one who is always around Natsu in those secret pictures I always take of him.

The boy turns around to see me. He has blond hair like mine and a scar that goes down from his forehead to his right eye. I notice his eyes are royal blue. Those royal blue eyes look at me in a puzzled way. "Hey, is this the famous Lucy Heartfilia, Gray?" he asks.

Gray shrugs as he looks away from me. "Yeah, she's my childhood friend, Lucy." he replies with a slightly flushed face. Then he turns to me. "Um… This is Sting Eucliffe, Lucy," he says as he points to the blond boy.

Famous? I wonder. I look at the boy named Sting. He has a strong build and has the football uniform. "Hi…" I say shyly. I'm a pretty shy person when it comes to meeting new people.

Sting walks towards me and examines my face closely. It makes me feel a little awkward. I just met this dude after all.

"I guess the rumors really are true," he says as he moves away from me.

"Rumors?" I ask. I don't remember any rumors about myself, unless Lisanna spread them. I gulp. I hope it is not a bad rumor. I can still remember Lisanna trying to spread one about me having a habit of drinking water from the toilet. Ugh, luckily, no one was that stupid to believe her stupid lies, besides Minerva, which was pretty ironic because her name is from the Roman god of wisdom.

"That there's a girl named Lucy Heartfilia who is supposedly really beautiful," Sting replies as he sits back on the sofa with a plop and grabs a game controller to continue playing. He yawns and brushes his hair wildly with his hand to mess it up a bit. "It's a pity you're the president of Natsu's fan club or else a ton of guys would probably go for you."

I can not help but turn red. I had no idea about this rumor. However, I shrug it off. A rumor is a rumor, usually they aren't true. My chocolate brown eyes turn to Natsu. He is still playing that racing video game. Suddenly, he turns around to face me with his cheesy smile.

"Luce is the president of the club cause' I'm just that awesome," Natsu replies as he winks as me. "You're my biggest fan right? So you're gonna cheer the hardest for me right, Luce, at the game today?"

I don't say anything. I just stare into those jet black eyes of his without a word. I am speechless.

"Luce?"

I shake my head several times. What was I doing, staring at him like that? Ugh, I am such an embarrassment. "Ah… Um… Yeah, I… I'll be cheering for you…" I say shyly. I mentally punch myself for stuttering. How could I embarrass myself in front of him, again.

Gray checks his watch. His eyes widen. "Guys, we have to go now! The game starts in twenty minutes!"

All of us quickly get up and run out the door. Natsu shoves us all in his red car and gets into the driving seat when Gray suddenly pushes him out of the seat.

"No," Gray says, "there is absolutely no way I'm going to let you drive Natsu. You always get motion sickness."

Motion sickness? I never knew Natsu had motion sickness, well, until now that is.

Natsu shrugs and lets Gray take the driver's seat and sits next to me on the back seat. On my left is Sting Eucliffe. I don't know why but I feel really awkward sitting between the two of them. Perhaps it is because Sting is a guy I just met a few minutes ago and Natsu is the guy that my whole club yearns for.

Then I feel a lump on my pocket. I realize it's my phone. Then I remember. I have to take some pictures of Natsu. I forgot to take them earlier in my room but this time I'm not going to forget. My fangirl side begins to take control of me. Time to get some awesome pictures of his car and him.

OoO

We finally arrive at the football field at Fairy High. We are having a home game so our team has the advantage. Once Natsu gets out of the car, he opens the door for me and sticks out his hand. "Here Luce," he says. His voice is a bit weak and his face is slightly green. Yup, he definitely has motion sickness.

I flush red and look at him strangely. This is certainly not like him to offer his hand to another. Then again, I don't really know him that well, so I take his hand. Natsu slowly helps me out of the car when I hear a voice shout, "Natsu! Where have you been?"

I look to my right to see Lisanna Strauss, running towards us. Once she sees my face, she makes a huge frown and scowl on her face. "Oh, hello Lucy Heartfilia," she says.

Man, by the look that face, she must really despise me. "Hello Lisanna," I reply cooly. To be honest, I can feel a shiver go down my spine. Lisanna scares me a lot. Whenever she sees me, she always stares daggers into my throat.

All the sudden, I feel an arm go around my shoulders. I look behind me to see Sting Eucliffe. "Sting?" I say.

"Hey you," he says with a stern look on his face. "I don't know who you are but you ought to not terrorize the girl."

Terrorize? I think. Then I notice I'm putting up a really terrified face unconsciously. I quickly change my expression to a neutral face. "I'm fine!" I protest to Sting. I don't want to look scared in front of Lisanna.

"Anyway, why are you here, Lucy Heartfilia?" Lisanna snares at me.

I swore I saw spit fly out of her mouth when she said that. Ew. Disgusting. I try to hide the urge of wanting to break into laughter. "Um… I'm the captain of the cheer squad…" I say, fighting the urge to punch her and say she's must be blind for not seeing my cheerleading uniform.

"Hey Lisanna," Natsu says, "Why are you being so mean to Luce? She didn't do anything wrong."

"What are you saying Natsu?" Lisanna asks in a sweet tone of voice. "I'm acting totally normal!"

Sure, you are being _totally _normal. Normal for you is snaring at girls for getting close to Natsu and making sure you spit on them while you are at it.

Sting finally takes his arm off my shoulders and takes my arm instead. He drags me away from the situation and turns to look at me once we are far enough. "Don't mind Lisanna, she's just really over-protective of Natsu…" he says as he rolls his eyes. I am guessing that he does not like Lisanna so much either, judging from his tone of voice.

"More like she enjoys being a jerk…" I mutter to myself so only I can hear what I'm saying.

"Yeah, I know," Sting replies. I didn't know he could hear me honestly. I shrug and wave goodbye to Sting as I walk over to my cheer squad.

I had just met Sting this morning but he is pretty nice. He is also Natsu's best friend now that I think about it. Once I spot my cheer squad, Juvia runs over to me. She is also in my squad.

"Lucy! You're late!" she cries. "Juvia was getting worried!"

"Sorry," I say. Then I hear a whistle blow. The game has started. I quickly run to position and start cheering, _Fairies_, which is our team name. We are often criticized for it, but our school doesn't care. We still call our students _Faires _anyway.

I can't help but stare at Natsu the whole time. Even though I'm doing flips and spins, I never lose sight of him. He is just that magnifying. How fast he runs and how he throws that football, all of it is just dazzling. Well, to be honest, I don't know a thing about football but I choose to cheer for the football games anyway. Just so I can watch Natsu. It's definitely worth it.

All the sudden, during one of his plays, his jet black eyes suddenly look at me as he is running backwards, about to throw the ball. Then he falls backwards right after making eye contact with me, landing on his back. His helmet rolls to the side. The ball fumbles out of his hands and everyone tries to get the ball. Luckily, our team recovers the ball and gets a little closer to the goal line.

"N-Natsu!" I shout in worry as his teammates crowd around him once the play is over. I want to run over to him but I'm not allowed to leave my area. Dang it.

Natsu slowly gets up by himself. He seems fine but his face is a little red and pink. I begin to worry about him. Hopefully, he is not sick. I can see him rubbing his slightly red face with his hands.

"I'm fine guys," I hear him say. "I just slipped."

"Are you sure you aren't sick?" Sting asks. "You are a bit red."

Natsu shakes his head rapidly. "I-I'm not!" he shouts in a stuttered voice as he runs back to his position. He is getting more and more red as he runs. Then he and I make eye contact again and he falls backwards, again.

Natsu… Is he really okay? Falling backwards isn't exactly normal.

**\- End of Chapter Two -**

Hello, sorry for the short and boring chapter. It will get more interesting soon! Anyway, thank you for reading and please continue to read this fanfic!

Please review!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	3. Chapter 3: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Hello. My name is Natsu Dragneel. I have salmon pink hair and I play football as a hobby. Right now I am in a game and am preparing myself to throw the football when I look slightly to my right to see Lucy Heartfilia, cheering for me loudly with her cheer squad. I notice her do flips and spins as her golden blond hair bounces also. All the sudden, her dark chocolate brown eyes turn to look at me.

I can feel myself turn red once I meet her eyes. I begin to feel an urge to continue staring into her eyes, but I am in a game so I know I have to resist that urge. I quickly turn back to the game but I lose my balance and fall backwards onto the grass as the ball fumbles out of my hand.

"Natsu!" I hear a voice yell loudly. I am sure it is Lucy's voice.

Once the play is over, my team comes over to me to make sure I am alright. I slowly get up by myself and say I am fine. My eyes trail to Lucy's again. She looks back at me with a worried expression and I fall backwards again. My face is red and I do not know what in the world is wrong with me. Whenever I see her, my body loses its sense of balance. What the heck is wrong with me? I just met her yesterday! Ugh, concentrate Natsu. Concentrate.

Sting comes over to me and lends me a hand. "Natsu, you should really stop playing. I think you may be sick. Come on Captain, we are bringing you for a check-up."

I take Sting's hand and shrug as I slowly get back up. Maybe I am just sick, but I was feeling okay this morning. I leave the game and walk over to the hospital near the field. I walk into a room and a doctor checks up on me. He tells me that I am fine and I am probably just tired, so he gives me a bed to sleep on until the game ends.

I yawn and close my eyes. Soon, I fall into deep sleep. When I open my eyes, I see Lucy sitting next to my hospital bed with her head right next to my shoulder. Her blond hair is covering half of her face as she breathes in and out. She is sleeping. I take my hand and sweep her hair behind her ear so her hair doesn't cover her face.

Lucy's faces starts to twitch as her eyes flutter open. Her chocolate brown orbs stare into my jet black ones. "Natsu?" she says with a tired tone of voice which was kind of cute. "You're awake! Thank goodness!"

"Ah…" I say. "Um… Hey Luce. So… um… Did we win?"

Lucy nods with a smile. "Your teammates already went home. You were sleeping so soundly they didn't want to wake you up." Then she scratches her head. "Oh yeah, um… Gray took your car home for you."

"Wait," I say, "what time is it?"

"Um… three o'clock in the afternoon," she replies as she looks at her watch.

Suddenly, my stomach growls loudly. My face turns red in embarrassment. I have not eaten lunch yet. "Um… ah…" I say as I scratch my head. "I guess I'm a bit hungry."

"Do you want to eat lunch with me then?" Lucy asks, her face a bit flushed. "I haven't eaten lunch either so…"

"Sure," I say. I slowly get out of the bed and leave the hospital room with Lucy. As we walk to a place to eat, I notice something dangling underneath her shirt. The sun glimmers on it and I see some gold things blind my eyes.

After walking two blocks, Lucy points to somewhere and says, "Here, let's eat here!" I look to where she is pointing and see a cafe. It is nice and small with plants being grown around it.

I shrug and say, "Sure." We walk inside the cafe and take a seat inside as Lucy grabs the food menu.

Once Lucy decides on something to eat, she puts down the menu and smiles at me. "Funny, I just met you yesterday and I'm already eating at a cafe with you."

"Yeah," I reply with a chuckle. I am still curious about those golden things hidden underneath her shirt so I decide to ask her about it. "By the way, what are those golden things on your waist?"

Lucy suddenly puts her hands on her right side of her waist and begins to sweat. "Umm… I don't know what you're talking about…"

Well, she is a pretty bad liar. "I saw something underneath your shirt," I say, "It was golden."

"Oh that…" Lucy says uncomfortably. She slowly pulls out twelve golden keys from her waist. All of the keys are oddly shaped and have an odd symbol on the top of each of them. "This is an important keepsake from my mother…"

I suddenly regret asking about the golden keys. I must have reminded her of many unpleasant memories. "Oh, I… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked…" I say.

"It's fine," she says with a smile. "Actually you are the first person who has ever noticed them besides Gray. I can tell you about it."

Gray? I don't know why but I suddenly get a headache from hearing that name. When did she and Gray meet anyway? Now that I think about it, Gray did mention that he is in love with Lucy. Thinking this, I suddenly get frustrated. Ugh, why am I so mad? It's just Gray. "What are those keys?" I ask. "I've never seen anything like it."

"I don't know," she says. "Mom passed away when I was two and Dad won't explain it to me… He says I'll find out eventually…"

"I'm sorry!" I apologize again. "I shouldn't have asked! I didn't know about your mother…"

Lucy smiles at me and shakes her head. "No, it's fine," she says. "I just met you yesterday but I feel like I've known you since I was a baby…"

I suddenly feel hot and notice my face is full of the color of tomato red.

"I'm sorry," she says as she twirls the golden keys around her finger. "Did that sound weird?"

I shake my head quickly. "N-No! I mean, of course not! I mean…" I scratch my head and look at the fork on my table. "I know how it feels to lose a parent… My dad passed away when I was nine so…"

Lucy's eyes widen and her brown orbs shift over to my jet black ones. She opens her mouth to speak but she doesn't say anything, as if she has a lost for words.

Soon a waiter arrives to bring our food. We eat in silence. It is pretty awkward. Usually, this would be the time I would bring up something to talk about but I am at a lost for words also. I don't know what to say to Lucy. She is just like paper, easy to destroy or rip to shreds.

After we are done eating, I walk Lucy home. We still do not say anything to each other. I glance down at her in worry to see that she is looking back up at me. Quickly, I turn away from the eye contact awkwardly and force myself to stare straight ahead. However, my eyes keep on trailing to her, her blond hair that is flowing with the wind, her dangling golden keys she hides under her shirt, and her chocolate brown eyes. I just met this girl yesterday but it feels like I have known her since I was born.

Once we get to Lucy's house, I see Gray, standing at her doorstep. "Lucy!" he yells once he sees us. "Where have you been-" Suddenly, he sees me next to her and scowls. "Natsu, what did you do?"

Lucy quickly stands between us. "Natsu didn't do anything wrong!" she shouts to Gray. "He just treated me to lunch! That's all!"

"Lunch?" Gray asks. Then his navy blue eyes glare at me. He quickly takes Lucy's hand and drags her to her house. "Come on," he says. "Your dad is waiting for us. He says he wants my family to come over for dinner."

"Oh, okay," Lucy replies. Then she turns to me and waves goodbye. "See you on Monday!" she exclaims with her bright smile.

"Um… ah… See ya!" I say as I wave back with a smile.

I walk home by myself and take the train when I see it. Once I get home, I slam myself face first into my bed. Ugh, I am so exhausted today. I turn my head to my left where my bed stand is to see a picture of my dad. "I'm back Dad," I say with smile.

I close my eyes and fall asleep. As I sleep, I dream of what my dad, Igneel Dragneel, told me before he passed away seven years ago.

**Natsu's Memory - Seven years ago…**

"Dad!" I yelled in my nine-year-old high pitched voice. "You can't die! You just can't!"

Dad was in a hospital bed. He was dying of a rare illness with the heart. His heart was not getting enough oxygen. All I could do was hold onto my dad tightly as his heart monitor slowly increased in beeps. I couldn't do anything.

"Natsu, I don't have much time left," Dad told me in a weak voice.

"Dad! No! You can't! I… I haven't learned everything from you yet!" I screamed.

Dad put his hand on my head. "Natsu, you are smart enough now." Then he pointed to my heart. "You will figure out the power within you, Natsu."

"Wait what?" I said. "What are you saying Dad?" I was confused. What in the world was he talking about? Power… within me?

"Even... flames can save... lives," he said. Then his eyes began to water as they slowly began to shut close. "Goodbye… Natsu… Take care of your mother and Wendy for me…" Then the tears in his eyes stopped and slowly dripped onto the pillow of the hospital bed.

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

Then everything was silent, except for the heart monitor which made a long beep sound signaling that my dad was dead.

"Dad… Dad…" I said. "I still don't understand…"

**End of Natsu's Memory**

"Natsu!" a voice shouts. "Wake up and bring me more to drink!"

My eyes slowly open and a look around me. I am still in my football uniform and in my room. I open the window and look at the clock. My eyes widen. I was asleep for nineteen hours! It's morning now.

"Natsu!" I hear the voice shout again. "Where is my drink?"

I recognize the voice to be my mom's, Grandine Dragneel. I quickly change into my black jeans, white scarf, and red shirt and quickly run upstairs, where my mom is drinking. I sigh. Ever since my dad passed away, Mom has been drinking a lot. Oh yeah, my mom is a pretty famous model, so our family is wealthy. We live in a mansion. Wendy Dragneel, my twin sister, is at a boarding school, studying to be a singer. Well, she is already famous anyway so why does she still bother studying about vocals? Her stage name is Wendy Marvell.

"Good morning Mom," I say.

"Natsu, where did you put my drinks?" she asks in her lazy tone, slurring her words. Judging from how she looks, I can tell that she has been drinking overnight. Her sky blue eyes have dark circles around them, so dark, they look more like bruises. Her blue hair is all over her face, messy. Her shirt is also not put on correctly, showing some of her bare skin on her right shoulder. Also, the way she is sitting makes her look like a haggard, which she is.

"It's in the cupboard like usual Mom," I say as I stretch my arms.

"Go get it for me," she says.

"Fine…" I say as I quickly run to the cupboard, get five glasses of her drinks and set it in front of her. As long as I do what she says, she won't hit me or anything. When she is drunk, like she is now, her hits can be very painful.

She opens the glass of beer and puts it to her mouth, drinking it. Dang, if I am just going to be a slave for my drunk mom, then I should have just gone with Wendy to study music at a boarding school. Then I remember what my dad told me to do:

"_**Natsu… Take care of your mother and Wendy for me…"**_

Great, I think. Not that I don't want to help my mom but I don't think taking care of her means bringing alcoholic drinks to her everyday from the cupboard. I can barely remember my mom being normal. She used to be beautiful, probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But ever since Dad passed away, she turned into a drunkard who was sometimes abusive.

Oh well, I'll be able to see my friends at school tomorrow. Now that I think about it, Gramps, or rather Principal Makarov, said that he would make an announcement for the juniors tomorrow in the morning. I can't wait! Whenever Gramps makes an announcement, it always means something good.

**OoO**

I wake up at seven-twenty... Wait, seven-twenty? I am going to be late for school again! School starts in ten minutes! I quickly grab my uniform out of my closet and pull my clothes together. My green tie is done a bit messy but I could care less. I can't be late, especially for Gramps announcement. Oh yeah, I am not related to Gramps, everyone just calls him that in school.

I quickly run to my kitchen and grab whatever I can find for breakfast, which is the cliche piece of bread. Then I run to the front door and slip on my school shoes. All the sudden, I wish I didn't live in a mansion. It is way too big. In fact, I already spent seven minutes running around the house. Wait... Seven minutes? Shoot! I only have three minutes to get to school!

As I run to the train, I barely make it. I slam myself into a chair and take a deep breath. Whew, made it just in time.

"Oi, Natsu," I hear next to me. The voice sounds oddly familiar. I turn my head to see Gray Fullbuster.

"Gray? What are you doing here?" I ask.

Gray shrugs and points to the person next to him. "She wouldn't wake up so I guess we are going to be late again."

I notice the person next to him is Lucy. Of course, Gray and Lucy are neighbors so it's normal for them to go to school together. Thinking this makes my heart feel weird. It feels like an elephant just stomped on it several times. Perhaps it is because I am so tired. "Morning Luce!" I say.

"Good morning," Lucy says with her signature bright smile.

Gray looks at Lucy's messily tied red tie and sighs. He takes his hands and pulls on the tie for her. "Lucy, put on your tie properly for once," he says as he rolls his eyes. "You always mess it up."

I notice that Gray has a red tie also. That's odd. Most people at my school have a green tie. I wonder how they got a red one.

"Sorry Gray!" she replies with a sweat drop on her face. "I was in a rush this morning."

"You wouldn't be in a rush if you just woke up early, idiot!" Gray scolded.

"Um… What's that red tie?" I ask them out of curiosity.

"Oh, this?" Lucy says as she points to her red tie. "It's a sign that we are the top ten students in our grade. My friend Erza has one too. I'll introduce you to her sometime."

"So only ten students have the red tie in our year?" I ask. Wow, that's amazing. That means Lucy and Gray are part of the top ten students in our junior year. I didn't know that stupid idiotic Gray was smart. Surprising.

"Yeah," Gray replies. Then he smirks at Lucy. "I'm not sure how this stupid girl got into the top ten though!"

"Hey!" Lucy exclaims angrily. "Just cause' you are the top student of the whole grade, doesn't mean I'm stupid!"

"Oh really?" Gray asks. "I wonder, who was it that asked me how to do that math problem last night?"

"Gray!" Lucy yells in a flushed face.

As I watched the two banter, I suddenly feel a little left out. Well, I guess this is normal. Gray is her childhood friend and I am not. I can't carry a conversation with Lucy like him. I watch the two of them laugh as Gray messes up Lucy's blond hair. Suddenly, I feel a vein popping out of my forehead. I can feel my teeth clench in anger. Why do I feel so agitated?

"We are now at the last stop, Fairy Hill," says the speaker above us. "All passengers, please leave the train."

"Come on Lucy, it's our stop," Gray says as he takes his childhood friend's hand and helps her out of her seat. Then he turns to me. "Come on Natsu," he simply says to me as he turns away.

I quickly walk out of my seat and run to school with Gray and Lucy. My eyes keep trailing where Lucy's and Gray's hands are. They are holding hands, just like a couple. I clench my fist in irritation. Why am I so vexed by them just holding hands? It is only normal for them to do so, I mean, they are childhood friends after all.

Gray finally lets go of Lucy's hand. "I'm going to find a place for us to sit in the announcement hall." Then he leaves, leaving Lucy and I alone.

I notice that Lucy is wearing her golden keys again. It's pretty hard to notice but if you look really closely at her right waist, you can see a really small lump.

Lucy turns to me and smiles. "Well, should we go to the announcement hall too?" she asks. Then her eyes trail to my green tie. I gulp. I hope my tie is on correctly today.

Then she laughs. Great, I think I messed up my green tie this morning. All the sudden, I feel more self-conscious than usual. I wish I spent more time this morning fixing myself. My salmon hair is in a mess and my tie is not on right. What a nightmare… Great, now I am starting to sound like a girl.

Lucy walks up to me and uses her bare hands to comb my messy hair as she giggles. It is kind of cute to be honest. Then she takes my messy tie and pulls it to make it look more neat. "Natsu, you should at least clean yourself up! Gramps wouldn't want to see you all messy to his announcement hall," she says with that cute bright smile of hers.

I scratch my head and notice that my face is flushed. "Um… Yeah, I guess I was in a rush this morning too…" I say as I avert my eyes from hers and look at a nearby tree.

"Hey!" I hear a voice say. It is Gray and he is running toward us. "I got us seats! Come on! We are already late."

I quickly go to the announcement hall with Gray and Lucy and take a seat. There, I can see the principal, already making his announcement.

"So juniors, are you ready for the trip?" Gramps asks us.

What trip? I wonder. Dang, I wish I was here earlier because I don't understand what he is saying, even though we are speaking the same language.

"Make sure you bring your signed forms tomorrow if you are going to go or not!" Gramps exclaims. Then he leaves the stage and the announcement is over.

"Great, thanks a lot Lucy," Gray says as he rolls his eyes. "We missed the announcement."

As the three of us walk to our classrooms, Lucy catches sight of two of her friends. One of them has red hair and the other one has blue hair. "Juvia! Erza!" Lucy exclaims to catch their attention.

"Lucy!" Erza exclaims. Then she laughs. "Let me guess, you missed the announcement because you were late."

"Yeah, this girl is just always late," Gray answers for her. Lucy scowls and crosses her arms but Gray ignores her and asks Erza and Juvia, "What trip is he talking about?"

"J-Juvia k-knows… Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaims. Her face is all flushed. "Gramps said that there would be a trip to the mountains for the juniors next week! An overnight trip for two days!"

Erza nods. "A signed sheet will be passed out to the juniors in our next class." Then she looks at her watch. "My next class is Science so I have to go," she says, "See you later."

A trip? Sounds fun. I have never been on an overnight trip for school before. My next class is History with Gray so I wave goodbye to everyone else. As Gray and I walk to class, Gray says something that surprises me.

"Can you stay away from Lucy?" Gray says as he looks at me with his glare that he always gives me constantly for some reason.

"Why?" I ask. I don't recall doing anything wrong after all.

"Well, it's not like you're in love with Lucy so quit messing around with her heart," Gray says angrily. "You know she loves you so stop being such a player."

"A player?" I say angrily. "Since when was I some playboy who plays with girls' hearts? Just because Luce is the president of my fan club, doesn't mean she actually _loves_ me! We are only friends! Besides, if you're going to be so overprotective of Luce, why don't you just confess to her you stupid coward!"

"Coward? I am not a coward! I have my reasons not to confess! And I'm not being overprotective! Anyone would want to protect their friend from a player like you!" Gray shouts. "And why don't you actually pronounce her name correctly for once! It's Lucy, not Luce!"

Gosh, I never knew Gray was so damn annoying. I resist the urge to punch him because I know that Lucy would not want me to hit him. I feel bad for Lucy to have a jerk as her childhood friend. He is constantly controlling her, telling her what to do and everything.

"Oh _protect_?" I say. "More like you're commanding her to do whatever you want! She isn't a robot you know! Moreover you shouldn't be controlling whatever she is doing! She's human and can do things for herself!" Then I walk away from Gray and walk to class by myself this time. I can't stand this guy anymore. He is just so damn annoying.

**OoO**

A week has passed and now I am at Fairy High at six o'clock in the morning, wearing what I usually wear, a red t-shirt, white scarf, and black jeans. My eyes have dark circles around them and I am exhausted. I absolutely hate waking up early. Soon, I see Lisanna running over to me. Lisanna was my childhood friend since I was born. Her older sister, Mirajane Strauss, is currently a model at the age of eighteen and her older brother, Elfman Strauss, who is the twin of Mirajane, is a boxer.

"Natsu! Let's sit together in the bus!" she exclaims happily.

"Um…" I don't know how to reply. To be honest, I wanted to sit next to Lucy. I just met her about a week ago so I wanted to learn more about her. Well, I also wanted to sit next to Sting who is my best friend. However, despite the reason why I don't want to sit next to Lisanna I say, "Sure."

"Natsu!" I hear a familiar voice say. I turn around to see Lucy running towards us. She is wearing a long gray sweater with black leggings and brown cowboy boots. She is also wearing a red wool hat on her head and a red scarf to finish it off.

I groan when I see who is beside her. Gray Fullbuster. They are literally always together. Whenever I see Lucy, Gray has to be right next to her. Gray used to be a great guy until I found out how _protective _he was being to Lucy. Once I see him, I feel like jabbing him in the gut but I resist that feeling. Gray is an important person to Lucy so I don't hit him, but gosh, I would love to punch that hideous face of his.

"Hey Luce!" I say in a happy tone of voice. Then I look at Gray with a scowl. "Hello Gray…"

I notice Lisanna is also carrying a scowl on her face. She is glaring at Lucy with wrathful eyes I have never seen before. I wonder if they had a fight. That would be a great pity, since both of them are my close friends. It would be great if they could get along.

Lisanna suddenly takes my arm and hooks her arms around it. "Guess what Lucy Heartfilia?" she says. "Natsu said that he was going to sit next to me on the bus."

When Lisanna takes my arm like that, I quickly slip my arm out. I don't like Lisanna touching me like that, especially in front of Lucy. I don't know why but I really don't want Lucy seeing another girl touching me. "Let go of me, Lisanna," I say.

I look at Lucy and her facial expression makes my heart feel as if it has been ripped to shreds. Her eyes are averted away from me and her face is drooped. She doesn't look as lively as she usually is. Whenever Lucy is upset, for some reason, I can't bring myself to smile either.

"Luce-" I start when Gray sticks out his hand to block Lisanna and me from getting close to Lucy.

"That won't be a problem Lisanna," Gray says. "Lucy and I already decided to sit next to each other."

What did he just say? Sit next to Lucy? Gosh, I feel really bad for Lucy. I definitely would not like to sit next to a guy like Gray for six hours. Wait a second, why am I getting so agitated on a simple matter of who Lucy is going to sit next to in the bus?

"The buses are empty," says a speaker next to where we are standing. "Please choose a bus to ride on."

Before I get on a bus with Lisanna, I feel someone pull on my red t-shirt. I turn around to see Lucy. My face suddenly feels hot. "Um.. What is it, Luce?"

"Aren't you cold?" she asks me with a worried face. "You're only wearing a red t-shirt and a white scarf… The mountains are cold you know…"

I smile at her and mess up her blond hair. "I'm fine Luce!" I exclaim. "I'm always warm," I say as I point to my myself. Then I give her my hand so she can feel how warm I actually am. She is reluctant but she eventually takes my hand.

"It's warm," she says as her eyes widen.

Her hand is tiny and soft to touch. It is also very cold, like ice. I take her hand and put it close to my mouth and exhale my warm breath on them. As I exhale my warm breath on her hands, my breath makes a misty-like fog in the air. "Are you warmer now?" I ask her with a smile.

Her face suddenly turns extremely red. She quickly slips her hand out of mine and puts it behind her back. "Um… Thanks…" she says with a bashful tone of voice.

"Lucy! Where are you?" I hear a voice that sounds like Gray. I scowl when I hear his voice. Whenever I talk to Lucy, Gray just has to interfere. Gosh, what a nuisance.

"Um… Sorry…" Lucy says, "I have to go! Gray might get worried about me!"

I mess up her hair again and smile at her. "See you later then," I say as I walk inside my bus. Lisanna waves to me and taps a seat beside her, so I sit next to her and sigh. These days, I have been thinking about Lucy a lot. In my sleep, in class, during games, when I eat, et cetera. It is odd. I do not usually think about people like this. Why am I feeling so… strange?

"Natsu! Natsu!" I hear a voice shout in my ear. It is Lisanna.

"What?" I ask.

Lisanna pouts. "Natsu, I've been trying to get your attention for so long! I called your name at least a hundred times!" Then she puts her hand on my forehead. "You look worried and your face is a bit red… You don't seem sick..."

Worried? Red? I was only thinking about Lucy. I take my cell phone and use my camera to look at my face. Gosh, Lisanna was right. I really am red. I drop my phone and sigh. My face has been turning red quite frequently these days. I wonder what's wrong with me.

I yawn loudly. Man, it is way too early. I am so tired. My eyes slowly droop once the bus starts running and the world turns dark.

Suddenly, something white flashes on my eyes, as if someone was shining a flashlight into my eyes. I groan in frustration and open my eyes, but instead of seeing the people on the bus, I see someone with salmon pink hair, staring at me. He seems so familiar but I can not pick up who it is. My vision is very hazy for some reason.

My vision slowly clears but and I see my dad. Wait a second, this is impossible. I must be hallucinating. My dad is dead. He can't be alive.

Dad walks over to me and hugs me tight. "Natsu," he says.

"Dad? Is that... you?" I ask as my hands shake from shock and slowly hug him back.

My dad hugs me even tighter. "Natsu, from now on, you will be experiencing many hardships..."

"Wait what? Hardships?" I ask. "What in the world are you talking about Dad?"

"Good luck Natsu... I will always be looking after you..."

**OoO**

"Wake up, Natsu!" I hear a voice shout into my ear. "We're here! Wake up!"

I groan and slowly open my eyes to see Lisanna shaking me. "Finally, you're awake!" she exclaims. "You were asleep the whole ride here!"

"I was?" I ask. I had an odd dream. I had a dream that my dad came to me as I slept and just hugged me telling me _good luck_. I wonder what that dream was supposed to mean. Whatever, dreams don't usually mean anything anyway. I must have just been home sick or something like that.

I walk out of the bus to see Sting, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Juvia waiting for me outside. I waved to them. "Hey guys!" I exclaim.

Before any of them can reply to my greeting, the teacher blows his whistle and shouts, "Line up in two equal lines!" At once, everyone lines up in two lines as fast as possible. After all, no one wants to be scolded by the teachers. In front of me is Sting and behind me is Lisanna. Lucy and the others are in the other line next to us.

"Today, we will be doing solo hiking in pairs!" the teacher says. "We the faculty will choose the pairs by this." Then the teacher points to a white box and the line Lucy and the others are lining up in. "Come here," he tells them.

Quickly, in single file, their line walks over to the teacher.

"Okay, I want you to put your hand in here and take a slip," the teacher says. "The slip will have a name from the other line. The person's name you pull out will be your partner."

I gulp. I pray that I will not get Gray as my partner. He is definitely the person I least want to be with. I watch Gray go over and take a slip from the white box. He opens the folded slip and says, "Jellal Fernandes."

Who is Jellal? I wonder. I see a boy with blue hair walking over to Gray. He has an odd maroon red tattoo that runs down his right eye. His eyes are dark brown, almost black and he is wearing a furry black coat and long khakis. "Here," he says in a quiet voice with his hand raised up.

Then I recognize him. Isn't he that popular basketball player at my school? Well, whatever. I play football so I don't really care. Then I look at Lucy's friend, Erza Scarlet. Her face is almost the same color as her hair, scarlet. I notice she is staring at Jellal. Weird.

As I notice this, I hear someone with a feminine voice say, "Um… Natsu Dragneel?"

I quickly turn around to see who called my name. It is Lucy Heartfilia. My heart rate starts going up for an unknown reason. It's not like I have been doing any athletics today so that's odd.

"Natsu Dragneel?" the teacher shouts. "Is he here today?"

"Ah! I… ah… I'm here!" I say in a stuttering voice and raise my hand. I mentally slap myself. Ugh, how embarrassing. What the heck is wrong with me today? I've been stuttering and turning red all day. I quickly run over to Lucy with a flushed face. "Sorry about that…" I say as I mess with my hair with a flustered expression.

Lucy giggles a little. Her laugh sounds like those silver bells that ring on Christmas Eve. It's kind of cute, I guess. "It's okay," she says. "Shall we get going then?"

"Yeah," I say. Then we walk off to a path to our left. It has a lot of trees. As we slowly hike up, I figure we have to talk about something rather than just having this awkward silence.

"Hey," she suddenly says.

"Um… Yeah?" I ask, still looking straight. For some reason, I am a little scared of looking at her. I don't know why. Maybe it's because she is the top student of my grade.

"Um…" She doesn't say anything. It is as if she is also looking for something to talk about.

"You said that you were in the top ten students of junior year right?" I say. "What rank are you?"

"I'm second," Lucy replies with a sigh. "It makes me so mad!"

"Why?" I ask. "You are the second smartest person in our grade!"

"Gray…" Lucy says. I suddenly get irritated from hearing that name, especially since Lucy said his name. "Gray is first place," she says with a frown. "He has always been the best of the best ever since we were little. I never beat him in anything before…"

Never beat? Wait a second, that means that stupid Gray is the smartest guy in the junior year. What the heck? He doesn't look smart and he certainly doesn't _act _smart.

"I wish I was as smart as him," Lucy says.

I force myself to look at her and put my hands on both of her shoulders. "You are smart Luce!" I exclaim as I look into her dazzling chocolate eyes. "You don't have to be smarter than Gray! You can just be yourself. Don't compare yourself with that jerk Gray."

Lucy laughs and smiles at me. "Only you think Gray is a jerk! Gray isn't one once you get to know him!"

Oh I know him Lucy. I know that he is the worst of the jerks in this world. It is more like Lucy doesn't know how evil he is. He is always controlling whatever she is doing. Suddenly, I notice something odd. Whenever Lucy lies or is feeling uncomfortable, she laughs. I wonder why. "Don't lie to me," I say as I flick her forehead.

"Huh? How did you-"

"How did I know you lied about your feelings?" I say. "Whenever you lie, you have a habit of laughing don't you?" Then I mess up her blond hair with my right hand and smile softly at her. "You really do care about being compared to Gray don't you?"

Lucy nods at me as she averts her eyes to the floor. "Yeah, I guess I do…" she says with a frown.

"Don't frown!" I exclaim. "Luce looks the best when she is smiling." I put my hand on her cheek and pull it gently to make her frown look like a half smile. "There, you look better now," I say with my brightest smile I could make.

"Ow! That hurts!" she exclaims as she rubs her cheek. Lucy begins to laugh, not because she is lying, but because she is happy. Then she brightly smiles at me and says, "Thank you Natsu!"

My face suddenly turns into a deep shade of red. I pull my hand away from her cheek and run my hands through my hair. "Well… ah… It's not a big deal!"

Lucy's dark chocolate brown eyes trail over to our right. "Hey!" she says. "There's a nice view there!" She quickly runs in that direction as I follow her.

I watch her run over to the cliff. She turns around the look at me as she put her golden hair behind her ear. As I stare at her, I smile. She is just like a sun, brightly shining everywhere, making the dark clouds go away to make everyone smile.

"Natsu!" she shouts. "Help me take a photo!"

"Sure," I reply. I pull out my phone and tap the camera app. "Strike a pose Luce!" I exclaim.

Lucy laughs. "No way! That's embarrassing!"

"Oh come on, Luce! There's no one here!"

"No!" Lucy protests.

"Aw, come on! Please?" I plead her.

Lucy pouts. "Fine… Only one though!"

She steps backward to prepare herself for a pose, but there is no ground for her foot to step on so she falls backward. "Ah!" she screams. Then I can't see her anymore. She fell down the cliff.

She fell down the cliff.

Lucy fell down the cliff.

Lucy Heartfilia, the one who always made me smile, fell of the cliff and is going to die.

Just because I told her to pose in front of the camera.

"Lucy!" I scream out. My phone drops from my hand but I don't bother picking it up. I just run as fast as my legs can carry me. When I reach the cliff, I don't wait to think about how far down the ground is. I just jump.

As I am falling to the ground, I see Lucy falling below me. Her hand is extended out towards me and her eyes are shut tight in fear. I angle my body vertically so I can fall faster. I can feel my salmon pink hair brushing through the wind as I free fall. The wind is coming so fast that it hurts. It almost feels like blades are piercing through my body.

As I slowly approach Lucy, I realize that I only have one chance to save her. If I miss her hand, both of us are dead. If I save her, at least one of us will survive. I slowly extend my right hand toward Lucy. Finally, I get ahold of her hand and grasp it to my chest. I hug her tightly and spin her one-hundred-eighty degrees so that when we fall to the ground, I hit the ground first.

I can feel Lucy's small body in my arms. Her blond hair is tickling my cheek but I don't care. I just have to protect her. There is no chance for me to live if I land on the ground first but it is okay. As long as Lucy lives.

"_**Even... flames can save... lives..."**_

I don't know why but I remember my dad telling me this as I fall. _Flames_, I think.

But the ground is coming too fast. Before I know it, I am only about forty feet from hitting the ground and I close my eyes, blacking out everything around me.

_**Flames**_, I think before I die. _**How can flames save lives Dad?**_

_**"You will figure out the power within you, Natsu."** _I remember my dad saying that before he died.

What did he mean by that?

I wish I understood all of his confusing words.

Why did he speak in such confusing words anyway?

The ground is coming closer.

No.

**No.**

I don't want to die.

**-End of Chapter 3-**

Hello! Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope all of you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next chapter!

~ _**Metallic Snow **_


	4. Chapter 4: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

_**"You will figure out the power within you, Natsu..."**_

**Flashback: Eight years ago...**

"Daddy! Let's play!" I exclaimed as I pulled my dad's hand. My twin sister, Wendy, was pulling his other hand.

"Come on Daddy!" Wendy exclaimed.

Dad patted both of us on the head and messed up our hair. Both of us laughed because our hair tickled our skin. "Sorry Natsu, Wendy, but we are going to learn today."

Wendy and I were home schooled for a year by our dad when we turned eight. We never knew why. One day he just came to us with a serious expression on his face and told us that we were quitting regular school and he would teach us instead. Why? He never explained. Mom was a busy model so she couldn't homeschool us. At that time, Mom didn't drink as much. She was just an ordinary caring mother who loved us very much.

When Dad home schooled us for that year, nothing he taught us was normal. We studied legends about a dragon tribe and the elements of fire and wind. Only I studied fire, I never studied wind. For Wendy, it was vice versa. She studied wind but never studied fire. Why? I don't know. My dad was a confusing man. However, both of us studied the same myths and legends about dragons of different kinds: wind, fire, iron, light, dark, et cetera.

"Natsu, what does fire burn to turn green?" Dad asked me.

"Easy," I said, "Obviously copper."

"How about red?" he asked.

"Sodium," I answered immediately.

"Blue?"

"Gas."

"What do we usually use in stoves to burn fire?"

"Methane."

"Name an important matter needed to have fire."

"Oxygen."

I never knew why I had to learn such odd things. After all, I am sure that an ordinary eight-year-old never learned things such as methane. However, I never complained about learning such things. For some reason, I had a feeling that this all had a purpose. There had to be a reason why my dad was always so serious about fire. After all, my dad was a serious man.

The legends and myths Wendy and I studied weren't ordinary either. For example, there is this legend that both of us had never forgotten.

Wendy and I were reading about a male dragon who fell in love with a beautiful princess of a kingdom. Then the dragon and the princess secretly had a child which started the dragon tribe. Each member of that tribe was half dragon and half human. Each had a special type of magic that could wield the powers of a dragon. The tribe was nicknamed the "Dragon Slayers" due to their great amount of strength that was rumored to be able to kill even dragons.

"Wendy, why do you think that princess fell in love with such a scary dragon?" I asked my younger sister. "I mean, that dragon was a monster..."

Wendy scratched her head. "I'm not sure. Perhaps she didn't look at the appearance of the dragon. Maybe she fell in love with his heart and personality."

"How do you fall in love with a personality?" I asked in confusion. Everything I learned was so confusing. I mean, it was easy to learn but the reason why I had to learn it was confusing.

Even now I still wonder about that princess who fell in love with the dragon. And I still wonder why my dad was so serious about fire and air.

I guess I'll never know.

And it will remain a mystery to me.

**End of Flashback**

I am about to die from free falling from a cliff to save Lucy. The wind is cutting my skin and my hair is blowing around. My eyes are closed shut in fear. I am going to die.

But then I realize I can not die now.

I must live.

Because I promised Dad that I would take care of my twin sister Wendy and my drunk mom. If I am dead, who is going to make sure Mom doesn't drink too much?

_Power_, I think. Yes, that is what I need. I need power to save Lucy and myself. Suddenly, my chest feels like it just got caught on fire. Pain surges through me everywhere. What is going on?

_**"Natsu, from now on, you will be experiencing many hardships..."**_ I remember Dad saying in my dream.

"Argh!" I scream in pain. It feels like someone is ripping my skin off of my body. It burns. It burns so much. It burns just like _**fire**_.

_Fire_, I think. Dad talked a lot about fire when he was alive. He told me about how fire could kill but if one used it correctly, he or she could save lives.

I need to save Lucy. That is all I care about. I don't care about anything else.

I slightly open my eyes for the last time to see that my whole body is on fire. Red flames spread on my chest. My head feels all fuzzy and my face feels hot. No wonder why I was feeling this odd burning sensation. My mouth begins to move on its own, saying things that I myself can not understand, even though it's in the same language I speak in.

"Fire Dragon's Wings!" my mouth exclaims loudly.

Suddenly, fire erupts from the center of my back. I can feel the fire that was burning my body centering toward that area, making two wings in the shape of a dragon's.

Slowly, I use the wings and float down to the ground carrying Lucy bridal-style. Once my feet touch the floor, my wings disappear into smoke. Lucy looks at me with fear in her eyes. I hope she is not afraid of me. I would be if I were her. I mean, growing fire in the shape of wings on my back? Obviously I would look like a monster.

"Natsu? Did you just make fire out of... nowhere?" she asks. "You looked like an angel..."

"An angel?" I ask in confusion. Then I was relieved. Thank goodness Lucy oes think I am a monster. I would hate it if she avoided me out of fear. However, Lucy feels cold and weak. "Wait, Luce! Are you alright though?" I ask in concern.

Lucy nods but her body is still shaking, probably from shock or fear. Slowly, she closes her eyes and loses her consciousness by fainting due to her shock of seeing my dragon-like wings.

I take Lucy's angelic blond hair and tuck it behind her ear. I need to find some way to get back up that cliff we fell off. When I look back up, I notice that the cliff is going to be impossible to climb, especially with one person unconscious. The cliff is just way too high.

Then my mouth begins to move on its own again. "Fire Dragon's Wings," I say again. Fire begins to erupt from my body once again and form dragon-like wings behind my back. I don't know how I can do this but I ignore that mystery for now. Now, I just have to get myself and Lucy back up that cliff.

I quickly fly up the cliff in great speed and land right on the edge. Safe. Lucy is lying in my arms, sleeping. She looks like an angel with that blond hair of hers that reflects the sunlight.

Wait a second, why am I staring at her? What the heck is wrong with me? My face is all flushed and I am not thinking right. If I have so much time to stare at her, I should be bringing her to the hospital.

I find my cell phone on the ground and quickly pick it up. Then I run as fast as my legs can take me up the mountain, where the closest hospital is according to the sign that shows directions. As I run, Gray and Jellal see me. But I ignore them. Lucy comes first before describing what the heck I am doing.

Gray and Jellal run after me. "Hey Natsu!" Gray yells. "What's wrong?"

I don't answer his question. I just run down that mountain as fast as possible. I can not afford to stop and talk. There was a chance that Lucy might have done more than just fainted.

My legs begin to feel heavy like lead. It is getting even harder to lift my legs up to run and the steep uphill of the mountain isn't helping. It is getting harder to breathe also. My throat feels like there is a match lighting in my throat whenever I breathe. I pant harder and harder but I don't stop running. The sooner I get to the hospital, the better.

As I run, I can still hear Gray's and Jellal's footsteps following me. Once I get to the hospital, I kick the door open and shout, "Please, anyone! Please save Luce!" My voice starts echoing across the huge lobby and every single doctor there is staring at me. It is embarrassing but I don't care at the moment. I just need someone to help her.

Quickly, a female doctor comes to me and takes her out of my arms. She carries Lucy into a room and lays her on a bed. Then she does a check-up on her. I close my eyes tightly. Please let Lucy be okay. Then I glare at Gray. Why the hell did he have to follow me here? I don't mind Jellal for some reason though.

"She just fainted from shock," the doctor says with a smile. "She'll probably wake up by tomorrow." Gray and I sigh in relief as the doctor walks out of the door and says, "Just let her rest for a while."

Then the door shuts close and Lucy, Jellal, Gray, and I are the only ones in the room. "Natsu, you can leave now," Gray suddenly says.

"Leave?" I ask Gray angrily. "Who do you take me for? A jerk? Only a jerk would leave his friend who is in need."

"Um... I think you forgot that I was here..." a voice says behind my back. I turn around to meet eyes with Jellal.

"You're Jellal Fernandes, right?" I ask him. "I believe this is the first time I've ever talked to you."

Jellal nods and bows to me. "My name is Jellal Fernandes. I'm am a member of the basketball team and-"

"Woah! Wait a second!" I exclaim. "You don't have to bow!"

"My apologies," Jellal says as he stands up straight. "I was taught to speak and act formally as a child so it is a habit. Anyway..." Suddenly, his face is bright red. "Um... ah... Do you happen know Erza Scarlet? She has scarlet hair and-"

"Erza? Isn't she Lucy's best friend?" I ask in reply.

Jellal nods.

"Then yeah, I know her," I say. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he replies coolly and turns to the door, but I know he is blushing madly because his ears are a bright scarlet red. "Um, see you guys around then. I'll wait outside." Then he slams the door shut, leaving just Gray, Lucy and I in the room.

"Why don't you go too, Natsu? Like I said, I can take care of Lucy myself," Gray says as he looks at me with that signature glare of his.

"I am worried about Luce too!" I shout loudly at him. "If you want someone to go out of this room so badly, why don't you get out?" Okay, I know that Gray loves Lucy. In the beginning, I wanted to cheer for him but now? Maybe in the past, I would give him some alone time with Lucy, but for some reason, now I just can't leave him and Lucy alone. It feels as if my heart would not allow it. I wonder why...

Gray just rolls his eyes and brings a chair next to Lucy's bed, sits there, and lies his head on her hospital bed. I guess he is getting sick of arguing with me. I am sick of him too. I also bring a chair over and lay my head on Lucy's bed.

I begin to think about the legend Wendy and I learned back when we were eight-years-old.

The princess and dragon fell in love and had a child, which started the dragon tribe known as the "Dragon Slayers". I knew this was a fairytale but for some reason, it just seemed so real. I mean, wings just popped out of my back, anything could happen.

Wait a second, if I remember correctly, the "Dragon Slayers" had a power within them that could wield the powers of a dragon. Power that could even kill dragons.

Wield the powers of a dragon... Why does that strike me so much? When I used that weird wing making thing, I remember my mouth saying, "Fire Dragon's Wings". Wait a second, that could only mean one thing. But _that_ is impossible. Dragons don't exist and the legend is _only_ a legend, not reality... I think.

The wings I created at the cliff looked like a dragon's wings. Okay, wait a second. Let me get this right. I basically summoned this monstrous fire power. Ugh, I am so confused. I hate confusing things. Now you know why I hate math class so much.

To make sure I can actually create fire out of thin air and I wasn't hallucinating, I decide to test my power to see if my theory is correct. I stick out my right hand behind my back so Gray will not see and take a deep breath. I close my eyes shut and begin to imagine fire erupting out of my hand. I gradually open my eyes afterward and gasp.

My hand is on fire and it doesn't burn at all this time.

In fear, I scream and shake my hand to put the fire out. At this point, I don't care if I sound like a girl for screaming. And don't you laugh. I bet you would scream if your hand was on fire.

"Woah, Natsu!" Gray shouts. "What's wrong? Why did you scream? There are patients sleeping here you know! Keep quiet!"

I stare at my hand. It went back to normal once I shook it. That's odd. My body trembles in fear. There is only one reason for this: I can use magic.

So this is why my dad always made me study fire.

It all matches up now, all those legends and information about fire I had to learn about back then with Wendy.

I am a descendant of that tribe.

That dragon tribe Wendy and I always read about.

I am a "Dragon Slayer".

In short,

I am a monster.

**-End of Chapter 4-**

Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter once again. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors. If you have any advice or constructive criticism on how I can write better, please PM me. I would really appreciate that! Anyway, please review and look forward to the next chapter!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	5. Chapter 5: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

As long as I can remember, my dad has been telling me this story about a princess every night ever since I was little. For some reason, I never get sick of this story. It just... I don't know... moves me so much. My dad was a serious man, not the type to tell fairy tales but this story was an exception. Why? I don't know. According to him, my mom was the one who shared this story to him. Perhaps that is why he is so serious about it.

Well, this is how the story went:

Once upon a time, there was a vast kingdom. In the kingdom lived a princess whose name was Layla Eucliffe. My dad told me that my mom was named after her. I don't know why but the name Eucliffe sounds familiar to me... I can't pick up what it is though. Eucliffe... Eucliffe... Ugh, why does it spark something in me? I can't remember...

Anyway, every single member of the royal family could use a type of magic. They could control either the power of the stars or the power of the zodiacs. It was extremely rare for a member to be able to control both powers, but the princess, Layla, was able to do so. The members of the royal family also had great memory. They could remember from the time they were one-year-old at most. Every citizen of the kingdom was happy... until disaster occurred.

One day, the kingdom was being attacked by dragons. Dragons of fire burned the houses and buildings down. Dragons who controlled the waters drowned many of their people. Earth and shadow dragons shook the earth until every last tree fell down. Citizens were stabbed to death by the iron dragons. Oxygen was short in supply thanks to the wind dragons who sucked it out. In short, the kingdom was in utter chaos. Soon, the kingdom was near extinction.

There seemed to be no end to the dragons. After one left the area, another one took its place. The royal family members tried to fend off the dragons with their celestial magic. But there was no avail. Not even their magic could help get the dragons off their lands. The dragons were just too strong.

One day, a male stranger came up to the princess Layla and introduced himself as Weisslogia, a dragon who controlled light disguised as a human man to meet her. He promised Layla that he would help their kingdom be restored. Why he was doing this? Layla didn't know at the time.

When Layla saw this man, she felt a moment of fear. In front of her was the same kind of dragon that killed many of her people. However, she looked into the dragon's eyes and saw honesty in them. She agreed to allow Weisslogia to help her people; however, she had a condition. She told Weisslogia never to kill a dragon. Layla was much too kind to want any dragon dead.

Weisslogia reluctantly agreed to Layla's condition and as he promised, he sweeped off every dragon from the kingdom. Peace was restored and all was happy. Only Layla knew what kind act Weisslogia had done for them. To everyone else, the man who saved their kingdom was still a mystery.

The king however wanted to thank and reward this mysterious man who saved his kingdom, so he asked his daughter, Layla, if she knew him. Then Layla brought Weisslogia to the palace, hoping that her father would understand that Weisslogia wasn't like the other dragons. However, once the people saw this white shining dragon, they all screamed in terror.

The king could not believe that a dragon saved his people. There had to be a mistake. He believed that the dragon was trying to trick his daughter and murder her when he got the chance.

"Execute the dragon!" the king cried. "Send him to the dungeons and execute him tomorrow morning at dawn!"

"No!" Layla screamed. "No! No! Father! You don't understand!" But even with the princess's pleads, there was no avail. The king had already called the execution and was not planning to go back on his word.

The guards came in and grabbed Weisslogia with heavy metal ropes, expecting him to resist. However, Weisslogia did not resist. All he did was sit there and wait for them to tie the ropes and bring him to the dungeon. It was as if he was already expecting this to happen.

Layla couldn't believe what her father just did. She wanted to yell and scream at her father, but she had no time to scold him. She had to find Weisslogia. She quickly went down the stairs to the palace dungeons and ran around yelling between tears, "Weisslogia! Weisslogia! Where are you?" But all she could hear was the echoing of her voice spread throughout the dark.

She quickly ran to her room in tears and called a spirit from the celestial spirit world. She told the spirit to look for Weisslogia for she could not find where he was no matter where she looked.

Once the spirit located the dragon, Layla quickly ran to that area as fast as her legs could take her. It was two in the morning so she did not have much time left. She had to get to Weisslogia before dawn. There just had to be a way to save him.

She spotted Weisslogia, sitting in a large prison cell. His beautifully shining white scales were now stained with blood and mud. She kneeled next to his cell, making dirt stains on her dress but she didn't care. Her hands wrapped around the jail bars that separated the dragon and her. "Why?" she asked the dragon in a weak voice. Her tears began to fall faster. "Why did you save my people? You could have just joined your dragons and took over our kingdom... So... Why?"

Weisslogia looked at Layla with his fierce yet kind eyes and smiled. "Princess..." he said in a weak crackling voice. "It is because I fell in love with your eyes... Your eyes that sought ways to save your people... That is why."

Layla began to cry harder. She grasped onto the bars that separated her from Weisslogia so hard that her hands began to bleed a little. "This time... it is my turn to save you, Weisslogia. I'll explain this to Father! He will understand that you aren't one of the other dragons!" She put her head against the bars as tears dripped down her chin and landed on the floor. "I'll show him that you are different..."

"Layla," Weisslogia said, "There's no chance of the king understanding. I am a dragon. And you are a human. Humans and dragons can never be together."

Layla shook her head. "No!" she shouted loudly. "I'll get you out of here and we can run away together... Away from this palace. No, away from this country! We can escape and live together!"

Then Layla began to glow with golden light as she began to mutter some words.

"No Layla!" Weisslogia shouted. "If you do that and get caught, the guards will have you executed too!"

But Layla ignored him. "Urano Metria!" she cried with all her might. Then stars of many colors flashed down on the area, slamming onto the jail cell bars. The colors spread like fireworks blasting through the night sky. It was the most beautiful thing Weisslogia had ever seen.

Instantly, the bars were split in two and there was a huge opening, big enough for even a dragon. The princess, Layla, rushed inside the prison and hugged the dragon. She didn't care that her dress was getting stained with dirt or blood from him. She was just happy to be able to see her friend again.

And so the dragon and princess ran away from the palace. How did they run away with such tight security? No one knows. They say they both fell in love and had children. And thus their children had the powers of either a white dragon or celestial spirit powers and had an extraordinary memory just like Layla.

And they say their family's offspring still live on today and are still given the royal last name, Eucliffe.

**OoO**

My body is feeling something soft, like a mattress. I open my eyes to see a light blue ceiling and myself, lying on a hospital bed. I wonder where I am. I don't recognize this place after all.

"Woah, Lucy! You're awake!" I hear a voice exclaim nearby.

I look to my right which is the doorway and smile. It is my childhood friend, Gray, beside me. In his hand, he has a grocery bag.

"I was getting lunch since the doctor said that you would be getting up soon so..." Gray says with a flustered voice. He scratches his head and hands the bag to me. "Well, I guess we should eat."

"Sure," I reply. Then I look around my room. There is no one else here besides Gray and myself. I sigh.

Natsu isn't here.

I guess he wasn't that worried about me after all... Actually, I was hoping that he would be here. Well, it is not like we were close friends anyway. He would probably be more worried about whether or not he could eat rather than me... Or maybe even Lisanna, they are childhood friends after all...

Or maybe he is busy or something...

I should really stop thinking about him. It's making my heart ache a little to know that he doesn't really care about me.

"Lucy? Lucy, are you alright?" Gray asks me.

"Huh? Yeah!" I say with a few laughs. "I'm fine!"

"Lucy, you always blank out nowadays!" Gray says. "I called you several times already and you didn't answer..."

Wow really? I didn't even notice. "Oh... um... Sorry Gray... I was thinking about stuff..." Like Natsu Dragneel.

Gray and I eat lunch and talk for a while until a man with ruby eyes and raven hair comes in my room. His bangs covers one of his eyes and he is carrying a nurse's notepad in one hand. He is probably a nurse but I'm pretty sure that nurses wear white, not black like he is. His whole outfit is black actually. He also looks around my age.

"Hello," he says. "So you are awake Miss Heartfilia?" Once he catches eye contact with me, his eyes widen and his mouth almost drops. He looks as if he has seen a ghost. "No..." I hear him mutter to himself. "It can't be her..."

"Um... I am Lucy Heartfilia," I say awkwardly. I am definitely not good with strangers. Well, you probably noticed that already.

"Excuse me," he suddenly says, "but are you by chance related to Sting Eucliffe?"

"Sting?" I ask. "I know Sting. He's my friend, but we aren't related or anything. Why?" Do I look like Sting or something? I mean, we are both blond but I am sure that we aren't related. I mean, his eyes are a nice royal blue and mine are dark brown. There is absolutely no way we are related. But still, I yearn to have those blue eyes Sting has. They are so beautiful.

The man with black hair quickly shakes his head and shrugs. "No, it's nothing," he says quickly. "Anyway, I have to do your checkup now."

After a couple minutes, he leaves the room and announces that I am released from the hospital. I walk out with Gray and see the sun shining on my eyes. Now that I think about it, I never asked for the man's name. Oh well, it's not like I'll see him again anyway.

I see a ton of buses in front of us. "Gray, why are there buses here?" I ask him.

"You didn't know?" he says. "You were in that hospital for the whole school trip."

My eyes widen. I was? Wow. That sucks, I was looking forward to this trip too. Dang it. I get into my homeroom's class bus and sit next to Gray like usual. Well, it's time for school tomorrow. I guess I should get ready when I get back home. Study a little... Read some books... Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Natsu all day... I guess it's because he is hanging out with Lisanna or something... Ah, I'm feeling tired. I should sleep.

**OoO**

Eek! I am going to be late for school again! Gray is going to kill me this time! I quickly put on my white blouse, green skirt, and black blazer. Then I pull my red tie on messily like usual. I quickly comb my hair with my fingers and rush outside to see Gray outside my door glaring at me. I gulp.

"Lucy! We are going to be late again because of you!" he scolds.

"Eep! Sorry Gray!" I say. Gray sighs and takes my hand, pulling me as he runs with me to the train station. When we get there, I am exhausted. My legs feel like lead. Gray and I rush to our train and get in at the last minute. We sit down next to each other and I sigh in relief. Whew, barely made it in time.

When we get to the stop where Natsu usually comes in the train, my heart droops. He isn't here. Usually, he would come in at the exact train we were in for some magical reason. I haven't seen him since the day I fainted. I wonder, _Where is he?_

Gray looks at me and sighs. "Lucy! Why don't you tie your tie for once properly!" he scolds as he pulls my red tie for me like usual. He also combs my loose hairs with his fingers.

Instantly, I hear someone groan loudly behind me in anger or jealousy. I turn around quickly to see no one there. What was that? For some reason, I felt like I knew that groan. But... I just can't remember who that groan belongs to.

"Lucy," I suddenly hear Gray say. "You skipped breakfast again, didn't you?"

"What?" I say. "Gray, how could you tell? My stomach wasn't even grumbling!"

Gray opens his school bag, takes out a slice of bread, and hands it to me. "Idiot," he says, "I'm your childhood friend! Of course I can tell! Anyway, you have to eat something! It's not healthy if you don't eat!" Then he waves the piece of bread in his hand. "I knew this would happen so I came prepared like usual!"

It may be my imagination, but I just heard another groan of anger again behind me muttering, "I hate you Gray... I hate you so much..." I turn around to see no one again. Was that a stalker of Gray's or something? It's definitely not Juvia since the person muttered the word hate so who was it?

"Fairy Hills," I hear the train speaker say. "This is the last stop. All passengers, please depart the train."

Gray takes my hand and we walk to school together as I chew on the bread he gave me. Again I hear that same groan of anger behind me. I quickly turn around to see nothing but a bunch of empty field. Okay, this definitely has to be my imagination.

I hurry to my locker to get ready for homeroom. I turn the combination of my lock, open my locker, and see a note plopped on top of my textbooks. I take it out and open the note to see words written with beautiful handwriting that says, "Meet me behind the school at lunch break alone. Don't tell anyone about this." I don't recognize this handwriting but I decide to check it out later anyway. It may be important.

I look at the clock near my locker. Eek! Its is seven twenty-nine! I'm going to be late for homeroom! I run to my homeroom with handouts and textbooks in my hand. As I run, I pass by the principal's office. I am running fast so I can only see blurs of the people inside that room. I see Gramps of course, but I also see a man with black hair inside. Who is that? Well, I don't have time to think! I have to run! It's seven thirty-one! Class already started!

Once I get to my classroom, I slam the door open and everyone laughs at me again. Ugh, at least Natsu isn't here to see this.

Mr. Alberona glares at me madly. Oh yeah, Mr. Alberona's first name is Gildarts. Yup, he is the father of my math teacher, Miss Cana Alberona. Like father, like son... I mean daughter.

"Lucy Heartfilia," Mr. Alberona says, "Care to explain why you are late again today?"

"Um... ah..." I don't know what to say. I think I ran out of excuses. Dang it.

"Whatever," my teacher says. "Just take your seat quickly. I need to introduce a new transfer student."

Transfer student? That's odd. Transfer students don't usually come at this time of the year. Well, I take my seat which is next to Gray and sigh. Even though I go to school with Gray, somehow he still manages to get to homeroom on time and I don't. How does he do that?

"Please come in," Mr. Alberona says as he motions his hand to the door.

The student walks in and my eyes widen. It is him. That guy who did a checkup on me in the hospital. Those ruby eyes and jet black hair, there's no doubt about it. It's him.

"My name is Rogue Cheney," he says as he bows. "Please take care of me."

"Let's see," Mr. Alberona says as he scans our class. "Where should you sit... Ah!" he suddenly exclaims as he points to the seat behind me. "There's an empty seat behind Lucy!"

Rogue walks to the seat behind me and sits on it. As he walks, he notices me and his eyes widen also. "Oh," he says in recognition. "Hello Miss Heartfilia." I guess he recognizes me too.

**OoO**

It's lunch break and I am carrying the note I got from my locker. As I walk to the back of the school, my heart begins to pound very hard. I wonder who wrote the note. I don't recognize the handwriting or anything, so it is probably not someone I know too well.

I wonder what Natsu doing right now... Usually I would be doing Prince Natsu Club on lunch breaks right now, now that I think about it. I wonder what Virgo and the others are going to think when I am not there. It is odd of me to skip club after all, especially Prince Natsu Club.

I go to the back of the school like the note tells me to and see the familiar white hair and baby blue eyes that are waiting for me. I gulp loudly and feel like screaming but I don't because that would be a show of fear. There is no one else but that girl with white silvery hair, Lisanna Strauss.

Once she sees me, the first thing that comes in contact with me is her fist. She punches my face as her nails scratch my skin and I am knocked down to the ground. I scream in pain as my hands cup the part she punched me at. It is my temple. When I take my hands out from that spot, I see my own blood in my hands. I am bleeding. Ouch, I did not know that she was this strong. I can see a vein popping up on her forehead. This is not good.

"Heartfilia, you are going to pay for what you just did," Lisanna says with a smirk on her face. She cracks her knuckles and glares at me with her beautiful yet vicious baby blue eyes. I can feel myself cower in fear. I want to run but my head is feeling light and dizzy. Ugh, I am losing a lot of blood. This is really bad. I have to get help. No wonder why she told me to go to the back of the school. No one _ever_ goes there.

I must be going crazy because the only thing I can think about right now is how much Lisanna kind of looks like a panda with all that mascara around her eyes. You know what I mean, those stuff pandas you see at the toy store with nice blue eyes? Makes me glad that I don't wear makeup. Okay, maybe I should be trying to find help rather than staring at someone's makeup.

"Wha..." I say in a weak voice. I try to make myself look as strong as possible, but the blood flowing out of my temple is not helping. "What did I do?"

**-End of Chapter Five-**

Hello, sorry for the long wait! Actually, I had this chapter done about a week ago but... once I finished writing, I was about to click save and then my electronic device died. And then everything I wrote was gone so I had to rewrite the chapter. I am really sorry! Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter and please review!

~_**Metallic Snow**_


	6. Chapter 6: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"What did I do?" I ask Lisanna in the strongest voice I can manage to squeak out; however, despite my efforts, I still sounded extremely weak and in pain. I am also barely audible. "I don't understand! Why are you beating me like this?"

Lisanna glares at me with her _stop playing dumb _look. "Are you stupid? You stole him away from me you jerk!"

Wait what? Stole _him_? I don't remember being with any guy in the first place. "Stole who?"

She rolls her eyes at me and lifts her leg. She steps on my waist as if I were a footstool. Then she kicks me over and over again as I scream in pain and she yells, "Natsu! He was mine! Until you interfered! He even had to be sent to the hospital because he was so damn worried about you jerk!"

_Worried_? He would never worry about someone like me. He wasn't even by my side in the hospital while I was there. Wait a second, did she just say something about Natsu in the hospital? I stare at her with my widened eyes. "H-Hospital? W-What are you talking about-" I cough out blood as she interrupts me with another kick in my face.

"How dare you trick him!" Lisanna yells.

"Trick?" I say. "I don't know what you're talking about!" I don't even scream in pain anymore. My body is starting to feel numb so her kicks don't even hurt anymore. All I can do is cry because I am weak.

Lisanna stomps on my cheek and scrubs her dirty shoe on it. Tears are flowing from my eyes even faster. "Do you need me to spell it out for you, Heartfilia?" she shouts. "After you _supposingly_ collapsed, Natsu was by your side the whole time! He was right next to you in that hospital room and refused to come out! He kept muttering _It's my fault… It's my fault…_ over and over again!"

What? Next to me all the time? I don't remember that. When I woke up, he wasn't even there. "I think you are misunderstanding!" I yell to Lisanna. "Natsu wasn't next to me when I woke up! It was Gray!"

Lisanna pushes her shoe to my face even harder. "Stop lying to me!" she exclaims. "You moron! He kept holding onto your hand and refused to talk to anyone! He didn't even eat or sleep because he was so damn worried! And because he didn't eat or drink he collapsed also and was sent to another hospital room!"

Wait… so that was the reason why I didn't see him at all ever since I woke up from the hospital room? Because he was in the hospital too? And I didn't know? The information Lisanna just gave me is not processing into my head at all. However, as I think about it, it all makes since.

I didn't see Natsu when I woke up in the hospital.

I didn't see Natsu when I was in the train with Gray.

I didn't see Natsu at school today.

I didn't see him at all.

Because he is in the hospital.

Because of me.

Wait what? Why would Natsu blame himself when I fainted? He rescued me with that angelic magic of his. My head begins to throb again. I am feeling a sharp pain through my head. It hurts. It hurts.

"And it's your damn fault he's in the hospital!" Lisanna yells as she kicks me over and over again at my waist. "See! You can't deny it! It's your fault Heartfilia! In fact, he's still in the hospital now! Jerk! Moron! Idiot-"

Lisanna is interrupted by a blond person in my school uniform who punches her in the face. My vision is hazy so I can not identify who it is. The man carries me bridal style and quickly runs somewhere with me in his arms. I am feeling weak and nauseous so I fall asleep in this mysterious guy's arms.

**OoO **

Ouch. Ouch. Ow… Why does my body hurt so much? One of my eyes open to see a blond person again. "Hey, Lucy!" the person says. He grabs my shoulders and begins to shake me. "Get ahold of yourself! Lucy!"

I recognize that voice… Sting? My vision clears and I am right. It is Natsu's best friend, Sting Eucliffe. "Sting?" I say. "Where… Where are we?"

"The hospital," he replies. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

The hospital again? Why am I always being sent to the hospital these days? Wait a second, if I am in the hospital, Natsu _has _to be here, right? "Natsu!" I yell. "Where is he-"

"He wasn't treated in this hospital," Sting replies. "He's fine, so don't worry Lucy." He touches my forehead lightly and helps me lay in my hospital bed again. "Sleep and relax. Natsu just got released from the hospital and is being driven back here."

Whenever I see Sting, he reminds me of something that I can't put my mind around. He feels almost like a brother type of person. "Sting…" I say with a cough.

"Yeah?" he says.

I touch his hand and smile at him. I close my eyes as I say, "I don't know but for some reason, you feel like a brother to me. Kind of weird right? I mean, we only met a couple weeks ago." I notice that Sting isn't replying. "Sting? Sting?" I open my eyes to see Sting's hand covering his eyes. Tears are pouring out of his hand and are dropping onto my blanket.

"Sting, are you alright?" I ask in worry. "What happened? Was it something I said?"

"..." He doesn't reply.

"Sting?"

Suddenly he turns around and runs to the door. "Ah, sorry. I need to get some fresh air." Then he quickly walks away from my room.

"Sting? Sting!" I say, but he has already left. What is wrong with him? Suddenly crying like that… Is he okay? I try to get up and follow him but my waist in covered with bruises. I look at myself with a small mirror I see hanging on the other side of the room. I have a bandage around my forehead and my face has bruises all over it.

But still... Sting's reaction to what I said was odd. Did I accidentally hit a nerve? Perhaps he used to have a sister or a close relative and something happened to her. Dang it, I should have been more sensitive about my comment. I have to apologize to him. But my body won't move. Whenever I move a muscle, a sharp pain seems to pierce through my whole body.

"Lucy!" I hear a voice yell. I spin my head around to see the familiar salmon pink hair and jet black eyes. He is panting from exhaustion and grabs the door for support. I can see sweat on him, probably from running. This person is familiar. My eyes widen.

I gasp.

It's Natsu.

He's here.

Natsu is here.

"N-Natsu…" I say. "W-What are you doing here?"

Natsu runs over to me and pulls me into a big hug. Tears are running through his face. "Luce… I-I was so worried…" he says as his grip around me tightens. I can feel his warm tears being soaked by my school uniform. "When I woke up in that hospital room and didn't see you next to me…"

I notice that Natsu's body is huge compared to mine. And he is warm, like a fireplace. I guess it is because he can use the powers of fire. No wonder why he never got cold.m Slowly, I also wrap my arms around Natsu and can not help but sob. "Me too…" I say as tears run from my eyes to the tip of my chin. "I was worried too when I heard that you collapsed! Why didn't you eat or sleep idiot!"

He loosens the hug and sees the bruises that covers my body. His eyes widen in shock and he holds my hand tightly. "Who did this to you?" he asks me with anger in his voice. His grip around my hand tightens. "Tell me!"

"It was…" I start, but I stop myself. I want to tell him that it was Lisanna but I can not speak. I wonder what he will say if he knows that his own childhood friend beat me up. I can not tell him that. He can not know. He looks as though he suffered enough. He doesn't need to know that Lisanna was the one who caused this.

"I don't know," I say with a giggle. "I guess I forgot."

"Liar…" he says. "You laughed… I told you already. I know your lying habits."

Natsu is pretty smart. Whenever I lie, I always have that habit of making a fake laugh. "Well… um…" I don't know what to say.

Natsu puts his hand over my head and messes up my hair gently, as if he were holding a single flower. "Whatever," he says as he looks at me with his gentle jet black eyes. "The most important thing is that you are alright."

"Um… Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… How long are you going to hold my hand for?" I ask as I stare at our hands. My face is bright red and I am blushing madly. My heart feels like it's trying to rip itself out of my chest.

Natsu quickly lets go of my hand and sits on a chair next to my bed. He is trying to act casual but his movements are very tense and quirky. His face is also extremely red. Is he feeling sick? I put my forehead on his to check his temperature. His forehead seems to be around the same temperature as mine. "Hm… You don't seem sick…" I say.

"Wah!" Natsu exclaims. He immediately moves back and trips over the chair he was sitting on. He falls onto the floor with a loud plop. I try to run over to him to see if he is alright but there are bruises on my waist so I can't. Dang it, why did Lisanna have to kick me there so many times?

Wait a second, is Natsu really not sick? Because his face just got redder.

"Natsu!" I exclaim in worry. He rubs his leg which seems to be in pain due to his fall. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Natsu rubs his head and shrugs. "I… uh… am… uh… f-fine…" he replies coolly. He gets up slowly, puts the chair back up, and sits on it again as he scratches his head. I can not tell what in the world he is thinking. He seems so… I don't know… distant. It's like he is living in another world I can not reach. Perhaps it is because he can use magic and I can not.

"Um… Luce?" he says suddenly after a while of silence. He twirls his thumbs and stares deeply into the floor, as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. "Um… do you think I'm disgusting… or even a monster?" He looks at me in the eye. "Am I scary?"

What? I don't understand. It's more like the exact opposite. He isn't scary. He's more like dreamy. He is not a monster. He's more like a prince. And he is certainly not disgusting. He is mesmerizing. Whoops, am I fangirling over him again? I apologize. My fangirling side is _very_ strong.

And here I am, sitting in a hospital room and the guy I like is asking me if I am afraid of him. There should be no reason to be scared. Why would he think about such a thing anyway?

"Of course not," I say. "Why would I? You are…" I look into his jet black eyes. My heart begins to beat wildly and I can feel blood rushing into my face. Oh no. Why does this always happen when I see Natsu? So embarrassing. "Well… um… ah…" My voice is starting to stutter. I quickly avert my eyes away from his face and stare into my blankets. "You were the one who saved me so… there is no reason why I would be afraid of you…"

Suddenly, Natsu grabs my face with both of his hands and brings it close to his, forcing me to stare into his eyes. Oh no, my face is beginning to flush even redder. I try not to stare at his eyes. I'm not sure if my heart can take this. "Look at me!" he says right after I avert my eyes from him. I quickly stare my chocolate brown eyes back into his jet black ones.

"You really don't think I am disgusting? I… I'm a monster! I can make fire out of any part of my body! You…" His eyes look at me with sorrow. "You don't think I am scary?"

"No!" I exclaim strongly. "Natsu, you're human! Not a monster! I would never think of you as a monster! So please…" I put my hand on his cheek and close my eyes. Tears seem to be rushing out of them. Why am I such a crybaby? So embarrassing. My body seems to be moving on its own. I place my forehead on top of his. "Don't think of yourself as a monster."

"Luce…" Natsu says. I can't see anything because my eyes are closed but I can feel his hot breath. It is warm, kind of like a heater. I can feel his arms wrapping around my body, hugging me. Again my body acts on its own and hugs him back tightly.

Okay, you can not imagine how much my heart is pumping.

_Fangirl side is starting to take over._

No no. Please not now. I'm trying to act normal for once.

_But you know that your heart is pumping like crazy. Just go for it and confess to him or something. _

Shut up fangirl.

_Hey! I'm you! Don't tell yourself to shut up!_

Shut. up.

_Come on. Just confess to him already. You know you like him…_

I know okay! I know! But now isn't the time to confess fangirl!

_Aw, come on Lucy Heartfilia! Just do it! It is the perfect time! _

No! No! No! I can not afford to embarrass myself anymore!

_Lucy, I am being serious now. You aren't going to get another chance to confess to him like this in a million years so just do it!_

Yeah… I guess you are right… Wait a second, why am I talking to myself? Anyway, I should confess. My fangirl side is right. I probably won't get another chance to do this so I should let him know about my feelings now. Sorry heart. Please deal with the heavy beating for now.

_Okay Lucy, you can do this. It's really simple, just say those three words._

With my eyes still closed and my heart beating wildly, I say, "Natsu… I…"

**-End of Chapter 6-**

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	7. Chapter 7: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

"No!" she exclaims to me strongly. "Natsu, you're human! Not a monster! So please…" She puts her hand on my cheek as she closes her eyes. She gently places her forehead over mine to calm me down a little. "Don't think of yourself as a monster."

_Don't think of yourself as a monster_. I feel like that one sentence keeps repeating itself in my mind. Lucy… How does she know how to comfort me so well? How does she know those exact words I've been wanting someone, _anyone _to say? "Luce…" my mouth says on its own. I don't know why I said her name. I just wanted to say it. No, I had to say it.

I wrap my arms around her small body and allow my tears to flow. Soon, I feel her arms wrap around mine also. She feels so much colder compared to my body. Well, I guess it is because I am a fire dragon slayer. Fire practically burns in me all the time. Well, she doesn't exactly feel cold either. She feels warm, not hot or cold. Just right.

I'm not sure if she can notice but tears seem to be forcing their way through my eyes. Well, her eyes are closed so I don't think she notices. Well, actually I am staring at the ground, averting my eyes from her so I'm not sure if she is still closing her eyes.

This girl… I only met her a couple weeks ago yet she can move me so much. So much that tears just force their way out of my eyes themselves. Why? I don't understand.

I look up at her face and notice that she is also crying. The tears that are running through her beautiful face are flowing from her eyes to the tip of her chin. Her chocolate brown eyes are being covered by her eyelids and she looks like an angelic princess.

Unconsciously, I inch my face near hers until we are just a few centimeters apart. Slowly, my eyelids begin to close. Wait a second, what are you doing Natsu! Stop it!

My body is feeling hot and my heart is pumping faster and faster. Thank goodness her eyes are still closed because my face is bright red, probably like a tomato. It feels as though my body is controlling itself and I am about to touch her pink lips on mine until she suddenly says, "Natsu… I…"

I immediately snap out of it, come back to my senses, and pull my face away from hers. What the heck was I trying to do? I wasn't trying to _kiss_ her right? What is wrong with me? Oh no, please don't tell me I am turning into a player like Loke Lilica. I don't think I ever introduced Lucy to Loke before. I probably shouldn't. He'd probably be like, _Oh! Pretty girl, please go out with me!_

Did you see my parody of him right there? I think it was perfect. Not that I'd care of Lucy ever decided to go out with Loke or someone else...

"W-What is it Luce?" I ask her.

"Natsu, I… I lov-"

_Kill her_, I suddenly hear someone hiss, interrupting the words Lucy was trying to say to me. The hissing voice sounds like a man speaking with a hoarse throat in an echoing hallway. _Kill the celestial maiden… Kill her, dragon slayer of fire…_ Suddenly, I feel a sharp pierce of pain shot through my head. It feels like someone had just plugged me into an outlet and sparked me with a thousand volts.

"Ah!" I scream in pain.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaims. "What's wrong?"

_Kill her… Kill her… Her existence is unacceptable… _That voice keeps screaming in my mind.

"Shut up!" I shout loudly. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

_I am you. Your fate is to kill her._

"Shut up!" I scream. "Go away!" Whenever this voice hisses, I notice that my head feels like it is being split in two. I mean, literally split in two, as if someone cracked my skull with a hammer and used their bare fingers to split it in two.

"Natsu? What are you talking about?" Lucy says. She holds my shoulders and shakes me as hard as she can. "What's wrong? Natsu, come to your senses!"

_Go on Natsu Dragneel, son of the great dragon slayer, Igneel Dragneel. Kill the celestial maiden_, the voice hisses again.

"Who?" I shout. "What celestial maiden? How do you know my dad?" Ugh, my head hurts so much. I can not think right anymore. All I can hear is that hissing voice that echoes in my mind.

And let me tell you, it is amazingly annoying and frustrating.

Yeah, not what a typical guy thinks about when his head feels like it's being split in two.

The voice began to laugh aimlessly. _I told you Natsu. I am you, and you are me._

"Natsu!" I hear Lucy shout again. "Get ahold of yourself!"

I am guessing that the only person who can hear this annoying hissing voice because Lucy is probably thinking I am some crazy maniac talking to myself. How embarrassing… Ugh, no time to think about this. My whole body is beginning to feel numb and my vision is starting to get hazy. I feel like puking. What is happening to me?

The image of this world keeps blinking red and black. Slowly, Lucy's face seems to get blurry. My head is feeling light and I can feel my body's energy draining from me. I can see Lucy's lips moving, trying to tell me something, but I can not hear her. I only thing I can hear is that voice hissing in my head. Soon, I can not even hear the blood in my veins pump anymore. I think my ears are going deaf.

_Kill the immortal princess, Layla Eucliffe..._

Instantly, my world turns pitch black and I can not see a thing.

**-End of Chapter 7- **

Sorry about the short chapter, but there is a reason for it! Anyway, please review and look forward to the next chapter!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	8. Chapter 8: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"Natsu?" I shout. "What's wrong? Get ahold of yourself!" Suddenly, Natsu falls out of his seat and crashes into the cold floor. Quickly, I jump out of my bed and kneel next to Natsu on the ground. A sharp pain races from my bruised waist to the rest of my body but I could care less about it. Right now, I have to make sure Natsu is okay.

"Natsu? Natsu?" I say over and over. But his eyes are shut. He seems to have lost consciousness. I have to call a nurse, now. Right when I am about to call one, Natsu's eyes suddenly flutter open, revealing his eyes.

His eyes. Oh my god… they are… blank. They look almost like glass. "N-Natsu…" I say. "W-What's wrong?" But he doesn't say anything. He looks like a statue, almost dead. Tears seem to explode out of my eyes. No way… Is Natsu dead? "Natsu! Answer me!"

Suddenly, his mouth moves, hissing something. _Kill the immortal princess..._ he hisses. His head twitches to the right and his eyes widen in a creepy way. His mouth turns into a smirk. _Kill… Layla Eucliffe_, he hisses.

"What?" I whisper. Layla Eucliffe is that princess from the storybook my dad always read to me as a kid. This voice that Natsu is speaking in, it's not him, I know it. Yet, it also sounds like him at the same time. But how is this possible?

Suddenly, I feel a fist punch into my gut. It is Natsu. Instantly, I am blown back and I hit the wall. "Ah!" I scream in pain. I grab my gut in pain and slowly turn to look at Natsu with one eye. Now he is standing. "Na… Natsu… W-What's gotten into you?" I squeak.

Fire erupts out of his fist as he smirks at me. _Die, Layla Eucliffe,_ his hissing voice says. What is this voice? It sounds like an echo of a raspy voice. Is this Natsu? No it can't be. Natsu doesn't use that raspy tone of voice. This is the voice of a demon, not the voice of Natsu.

I am afraid. Who is this? My hands unconsciously touch the twelve keys that my mom left me before her death. Tears keep bursting out of my eyes.

Natsu slowly walks over to me with the fire on fist. The way he walks is eerie. He walks like a puppet, as if someone was controlling him. His blank jet black eyes stare at me once I am at his feet. I watch him lift his fist which is on fire, preparing to punch me.

I cower in fear and cover my body with my arms. "Natsu," I say. "Snap out of it… I know that this isn't you…" But I know that he can not hear me because he isn't even twitching from the words that squeak out of my mouth.

He is about to hit me with his fist but I quickly roll to dodge it. But just the heat is painful. At first I feel numb, and then I feel like my body is on fire. Then he takes his fist again, and hits me, hard. Luckily, this time his hand isn't on fire, but it is still extremely painful.

"Ah!" I scream. I fly back and slam into the window of the hospital room. The window cracks from the impact and then I fly backwards.

I am falling. I am falling so fast, the wind feels like knives slashing me from every direction. I am not sure what story in the hospital I am on, but either way, I am going to die at this height. Again, I can feel my hands grip onto the keys that my mom gave me. "Mom…" I say with tears in my eyes. My hands tighten around the twelve golden keys. "S-Save me…"

"Lucy!" I suddenly hear a voice below me shout. Someone grabs me in the air and carries me bridal-style. I shut my eyes tight in fear. What is happening? Who is this? What happened to Natsu?

"Lucy, open your eyes," I hear a familiar voice say to soothe me. "It's okay now."

My eyes flutter open to see Sting Eucliffe. "Sting…" I say. "H-How did you see me?"

Sting puts me on the floor and stands in front of me with his hand out. "He's coming," he says. "Stand back."

"Who is?" I ask him. I slowly stand up and look ahead, but I don't see anyone. Just a white wall. I grasp onto my twelve keys that my mother gave me in fear. Whenever I am in trouble, I always touch my keys. I guess it is just instinct now.

Suddenly, a pink haired boy in my school's uniform jumps out of the window. It is the same room I was just in. Is that… Natsu Dragneel? What is he doing? He could get hurt! As he closes in to the floor, he seems to move his body in a circular motion to reduce the harsh impact of the floor. When he lands, he rolls and then stands like a puppet, slow and creepy. His eyes suddenly move to me and glares. I gulp.

_Princess Layla Eucliffe, today is finally the day you die_, Natsu says in that hissing tone of voice. He puts his hands in front of his mouth in a cylinder shape. _Fire Dragon's Roar!_ he exclaims as fire bursts from his mouth.

What is this? I've never seen Natsu like this before. As I think this, I am frozen in shock. I can not move and the fire is blowing closer and closer to me.

All the sudden, I see a blur cover me and blast out white light, shouting, "White Dragon's Roar!"

I can not see anything, just a bunch of white steamy smoke. I cough over and over again. The smoke is fulling up my lungs, making it hard to breathe. Where are Natsu and Sting? I can't see anything.

Slowly, the smoke clears up and I see Sting and Natsu fighting. Natsu has flames in both of his hands and Sting has a white light in his hands that seems to blind my eyes.

Wait a second, Sting is… What… I'm so confused. What is that white light in his hands? It is just like the white dragon in the story Dad told me as a child.

_Fire Dragon's Claw!_ Natsu exclaims.

"White Dragon's Claw!" Sting exclaims.

Both of them hit each other and their equally matched. However, I have no idea what in the world is happening. Why is Natsu speaking in such an odd hissing voice and walking like a puppet? How did Sting use such odd powers?

_Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade! _Natsu shouts. Suddenly, streams of fire sprout from Natsu's hands. He does a quick spinning motion to twist the flames as if they were made of water. Then, slowly, he brings his hands together, making a flame explosion towards me.

"Layla!" Sting shouts.

Layla? Who is Layla? But I can't think now. All I can see are the flames blasting towards me.

Immediately, Sting jumps in front of me and summons white light in his two hands. Light begins in generate between the hollow areas of his hand, forming a sphere of blinding light. "Holy Ray!" he shouts.

But he is too late. The fire consumes him as he makes an eerie cry of pain. "Sting!" I scream. "Sting! Sting!"

Once the fire is out, I run to Sting, shaking him. "Sting, are you okay? Sting!" I yell with tears streaming out of my eyes. Why would he save me? We were not even that close friends. We were more like acquaintances.

Sting's eyes flutter open and he coughs. "Prin…. Princess…" he says. "I… I can still protect you..." Slowly, he gets up and aims his hands at Natsu.

"No!" I exclaim I grasp onto his sleeve. "Sting! You're already injured! Stop it!" Tears keep streaming out of my eyes as if my eyes were an endless waterfall. "Please… Please don't hurt Natsu or yourself any longer."

"Princess Layla…" he says.

My eyes widen at that name again. Why does Sting keep calling me that? He should know my name, so why does he keep calling me something else? I ask this question, yet for some reason, I accept this name as if it was the name my parents had given me.

I turn to look at Natsu. I stare into his eyes as he glares at me. This person is not Natsu. It just can't. I have looked at him since freshmen year, everyday, watching him. I know the way he glares with those jet black eyes. I know how he walks, talks, and acts.

This is not him.

I wipe away my tears and stare directly into his eyes which reflect my image. "Wake up Natsu," I say as I make a soft smile to him. "This isn't like you. Where are those soft jet black eyes I have always known?"

Natsu's head quirks to the right. His eyes are still blank. His hand looks as though it's being pulled by a string as he lifts his arms up. _Die, princess of the Eucliffe kingdom_, he hisses as fire lights in his hand in a spiral shape. _Fire Dragon's… _He claps his hands together and the flames immediately join together to form a enormous sphere of fire. …_Brilliant Flame!_ I can even feel the heat from here. He lifts the ball above his head and then throws it at me.

"Layla!" Sting screams.

This time I am prepared. I roll to the side and dodge the attack. However, my movements are too slow and my skirt burns a little. Luckily, I am unscathed. I am about the pat the mini fire out of my skirt when all the sudden, Sting grabs my hand to stop me.

"Don't touch the fire," he simply says. "I'll do it." Then he takes his hand and pats it out for me.

Why did he do that? It's not like I would die from just patting such a small fire out. Anyway, I have to do something. Anything. I look at my right hand and notice that it is grasping my keys. Of course I would do that. It's basically my natural instinct to hold onto the keys whenever I am in trouble. It makes me feel closer to Mom.

This is strange. My body seems to be moving on its own. Slowly, I take out one of the golden keys and hold it out in front of me. The key's top is shaped like a ram, two horns. In the center is an odd pink symbol.

"Gate of the ram, I open thee!" I shout. My mouth seems to be moving on its own. In fact, I have no idea what I am doing. It feels as though my body remembers something that my mind doesn't. A golden magic circle appears under my feet. A bright light seems to blind my eyes. "Aries!" I yell.

Suddenly, a gold light shines around my body and a pink cloud appears in front of me. Immediately, the pink cloud comes together to form a body of a girl about my age.

What the heck did I just do?

"I'm sorry!" the girl says. She has pink hair that curls up at the ends and a white fluffy outfit, like a sheep. On her head are two brown horns, like a ram. She wears white fluffy boots on her feet and long yellow thigh-high socks.

In short, lots of fluffy stuff.

"... Who are you?" I ask her.

Her eyes widen. "Princess, do you not remember me?" she asks. "I'm sorry! I'm your celestial spirit, Aries! I'm sorry!"

"Aries!" Sting shouts. "Listen to me just this once, okay?"

"Weisslogia!" the girl Sting called Aries exclaimed.

Weisslogia? Wait what? His name is Sting, not Weisslogia. Wait a second, that is the same name of that dragon who saved the princess in the story Dad told me. This is confusing. I can't take all this at once. Okay, I just summoned some weird girl named Aries who seems to be extremely apologetic and now Sting's actual name is Weisslogia?

Sting points to Natsu. "Attack that guy over there with your magic!" he exclaims.

Aries nods to Sting. "Alright-"

"Wait!" I scream, interrupting Aries. I quickly run over to Natsu and stand in front of him. "Please… Don't hurt Natsu!" I extend both of my arms to act as a shield. I bow my head in front of Sting and Aries. "This isn't him! I just know it! Maybe this is his voice and his body but this isn't him!" I lift my head and let my eyes flood tears. "Natsu isn't this type of person!"

_Asking for your death, Layla Eucliffe?_ Natsu hisses. I quickly turn around to meet those blank jet black eyes. I can see my reflection in those blank eyes. It is so clear that it is almost frightening.

Suddenly, Natsu's fist begins to engulfs in flames. My eyes widen and I quickly jump away from him, as if it were my instinct. I don't know, but for some reason, whenever I see flames, I am terrified. I never had this fear before. I mean, I've cooked and baked before. But all the sudden, I don't even want to feel the heat of fire anymore. I just wanted to run away from it.

"Princess!" Aries cries. "I'm sorry! My attacks do not harm my opponents!" To demonstrate, she extends her arms in front of her to create a giant pink fluff cloud. Then, she envelopes Natsu in this cloud until his body is unable to be seen.

"Princess! This is your chance!" she yells.

Quickly, I run over to Natsu before the pink cloud disappears and wrap my arms around the cloud. Then I tighten my hug around the cloud. Suddenly, the cloud disappears, leaving Natsu standing there in my tight hug.

"Natsu, it's okay now," I say. "Stop it now. It's going to be alright." I pat his back with my hand. My tears are being soaked up by his blazer. "It's okay now, so stop this. Calm down."

"Lu… Luce?" I hear him say. "Wha… What am I doing here?"

I loosen the hug and look at him in the eye. His eyes are back to normal, jet black. He is looking at me with confusion in his eyes. Does he not remember what happened? At any rate, I am just glad that he is okay.

"Princess," Aries says. "I'm sorry! I'll leave now!" Then she disappears with a flash of gold light and absorbs into the key I was holding earlier.

"Luce, who was that?" Natsu asks.

I quickly let go of Natsu and stare at the ground, embarrassed. What was I doing? Hugging him like that… "I don't know either…" I bring up my key and point to it. "She just came out of this…"

"Princess Layla," Sting says to catch my attention. "Well, rather Lucy."

I quickly turn around to look at him. "What is it?" I ask. "And why are you calling me Layla? My name is Lucy."

Sting looks at me with grief in his eyes. "Do you really not remember?" he asks me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask. "I've lived here all my life and remember every single thing about it."

Sting walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Please believe my words, Lucy," he says with a hint of sadness in his voice. His eyes are watery and he looks as if he is about to cry any minute. It makes his eyes look like beautiful blue glass.

Those are definitely not a liar's eyes.

"I will believe you," I say.

Sting takes a big breath and stares into my eyes. "My real name is Weisslogia. I am actually a dragon… Does that really not spark anything in your memory?" he asks me.

Wait what? Weisslogia… Isn't that what Aries called him? And a dragon? This seems totally unbelievable but for some reason, I believe him. "Weisslogia… Isn't that the dragon's name in the story my dad told me?" I say.

"Dad?" Sting says. "Your dad was the king. He died hundreds of years ago. What are you talking about?"

"H-Hundreds of years ago?" I say. "B-But Dad is waiting for me at home right now!"

"Wait," Sting says. He sticks out his hand. "More importantly, tell me about the story your _dad_ told you."

I explain the story to him and he listens carefully. He does not interrupt me until I am done. Natsu doesn't either. He just silently listens also.

"That's not the accurate story," Sting says after I finish. "I, Weisslogia, and Princess Layla never fell in love with each other."

"What?" I say.

"And we did run away. However, we were cursed," he adds.

"Wait, what?" I exclaim. "Wha-What are you saying? _We_?"

"I'm just going to make this short, okay?" he says. "We'll leave the explaining for later."

"O-Okay," I say.

"You... Your real name is actually Layla Eucliffe, princess of the Eucliffe kingdom… and… you and I were cursed with immortality."

**-End of Chapter 8-**

I'm sorry if this is really confusing right now. I promise I'll explain everything in the next few chapters! Thanks for waiting for this chapter and please look forward to the next one!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	9. Chapter 9: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

Wait what did he just say? Immortality? What is this, a fairy tale? There is no such thing. Does he really think I'll believe him? Also, I have full memory of everything. Is he nuts? I raise my eyebrows at him. "Say what?" I ask. Maybe I just heard him wrong.

"You and I are immortal," Sting repeats.

I force out a laugh and pat Sting on the shoulder. "Sting, I don't think-"

"It is Lucy," Sting says. He looks at me with serious eyes. "If you don't believe me, ask Gray."

Now I am confused. "What does Gray have to do with this?" I ask.

Sting sighs. "I keep forgetting that you don't have any memories. Listen, Gray is the descendant of-"

"I think I can explain myself," a familiar voice suddenly interrupts Sting.

Natsu, Sting, and I turn around to see my childhood friend, Gray, walking towards us. When did he get here? "Gray?" I say.

Gray walks up to me and bows, as if I were some princess. Well, according to Sting I am, but I think he has the wrong person.

"Princess," Gray says. "Please forgive me for not telling who you are even though I have been so close to you. I am a descendant of the royal ones from the Ice Country. Do you remember the Ice Country?"

I shake my head. "H-Hey, wait a second! I think you have the wrong person!" I exclaim. "My memories are all in me and my name is Lucy Heartfilia! Although my mom was named Layla, I don't think I am this princess you are talking about!" I look into Gray's dark blue eyes. "You should know this the most Gray! You're my childhood friend, right?"

However, Gray doesn't respond. All he does is look at the ground with guilty eyes.

"R-Right… Gray?" I repeat, but he still isn't replying.

"Lucy… I'm sorry," Gray says. "But the truth is... I... I'm not your childhood friend. Your memories of me are frauds. I… I'm sorry I lied to you, but I no choice. I had to because I was chosen to be your guardian."

Guardian? What is he talking about? Not my childhood friend? Is he being ridiculous? We've grown up together, played together, ate together, smiled together, became best friends... ever since we were born. No. This has to be a lie. Gray would never trick me... right?

"Then what about my dad?" I shout at him. "Dad is out there! He's alive! He's real Gray! He's my only relative who is still alive!"

Suddenly, Gray's eyes widen. "That's it!" he mutters. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"What?" I say. "That my dad is actually my dad?"

"No," Gray replies. He looks at me, eye to eye. "That's impossible. The king is dead." Then he extends his hand to me. "Come on Lucy. We are going to visit your _father_."

I look at Gray's hand and continue to stare at it. Should I take that hand? I don't know why, but I am afraid. What's wrong with me? I've held hands with Gray so many times already! In fact, every day ever since we were born! I don't know why but I am scared of taking that hand now. Perhaps it is because he isn't actually the person I know from childhood...

No Lucy. Gray is your childhood friend. He's probably playing some kind of game with Sting.

I am about to take Gray's hand when suddenly an arm flashes in front of us, interrupting. It is Natsu. "Hey!" he says, glaring at Gray. "I don't really care if you are some ice princess or something, but it's kind of rude to say that someone's dad isn't actually his or her dad."

"What did you say?" Gray asks in a furious tone of voice. "I'm not a princess! At least call me a royal, squinty eyes!"

"What did you call me, droopy eyes?" Natsu yells.

"I called you squinty eyes, Flame Brain!"

"Why you-"

"Stop!" I shout. Both Natsu and Gray suddenly look at me. "Stop it! We'll go to my house okay? And then I'll prove to you that my dad is really my dad! And Gray..." I glance at him to see him looking at me. Then I look back at the floor. I don't want to look at him. "I… I still don't understand how you lied to me… To me, you are still that Gray Fullbuster who I played with since birth..."

I start to walk to the direction of my house and suddenly feel a sharp pain disperse at my waist area. I fall from the shock of the injury and slam into the concrete floor.

"Lucy!" I hear Gray shout.

"Lay- I mean, Lucy!" Sting exclaims. "Are you alright? You're still supposed to be in the hospital, you know that!"

"I… I'm fine," I say. I try to get up again, but fall right back down due to the pain that travels from my waist to the rest of my body. That bruise on my waist is the one I got from Lisanna. Out of all places, why did she have to kick me there? Now I can barely walk. Sometimes I wish Lisanna and I could get along but that is impossible. She despises me. Just seeing my face makes her want to puke.

To my surprise, as I am thinking this, Natsu bends down, back facing me. Then he puts out his two hands backwards. "Get on," he says. "I'll carry you there."

"Natsu!" Gray exclaims. "She isn't in the condition to go anywhere! We can check out her father later! Now we should we worrying more about her injuries-"

"Shut up!" Natsu shouts. His bangs are covering his eyes. "Even... Even I know that! I want to bring her back to the hospital too but... right now, to Luce... proving that her dad is real is more important to her! So shut up!"

"N-Natsu…" I say.

The shadow around Natsu's eyes disappear, revealing his determined and vicious eyes. "I'm going to help the girl I know, Luce! Not this Layla princess of yours!" he shouts.

Tears begin to fall from my eyes to my chin. How does Natsu always figure out the words I want people to say to me. That's right. I can't be this princess Sting and Gray are talking about. I am Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia.

I wrap my arms around Natsu's neck and allow him to lift me off of the floor. My tears keep getting soaked up by his black blazer but he doesn't seem to care. "Thank you… Natsu…" I croak out. I bury my head into his blazer and cry. Why am I crying? I keep asking myself that but I don't know. Perhaps it is because I feel like someone cares about me.

More than I could care about myself.

"Why are you thanking me?" Natsu suddenly asks. "You are my friend, right? This is what friends do for each other."

I can't see or feel anything, just the black blazer I am sinking my tears into. I try to say _thank you_ to Natsu again but I am speechless. Now the only thing I can feel besides Natsu's warm blazer is my heart. It is beating fast. I hope Natsu can not feel it. That would be embarrassing.

"No wait," Natsu suddenly says. "We aren't friends."

Wait what? Suddenly, I feel my heart droop. No way... Does Natsu hate me like Lisanna does? My heart beats in fear. No, I don't want Natsu to despise me. I love him. I love him more than the world itself.

"We are best friends now, right?" Natsu says, interrupting my thoughts.

Best friends? That fast? My face is hidden but I can feel a smile forcing its way on my face. Tears of happiness fill my eyes and overflow into Natsu's blazer again. "Right," I say, but my voice is muffled because I am hiding my flushed face in his blazer.

"Now, let's go see your dad!" he exclaims.

"Right!" I say again in an enthusiastic voice.

**-End of Chapter Nine-**

Sorry about the short chapter again! I hope you all enjoyed it!

_**~ Metallic Snow**_


	10. Chapter 10: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Well then… So, I have Lucy Heartfilia on my back and my heart is making a raging storm of beats. What the heck is wrong with me? This is Lucy! I have carried Lisanna like this before, what makes carrying Lucy more different?

Oh gosh… Please don't make my heartbeats be felt by Lucy.

Suddenly, as I am carrying her, I notice that she is extremely light. Has she been eating right lately? If you compare her to my childhood friend Lisanna, this is a difference between a pig and a feather. I mean, Lisanna being the pig and Lucy being the feather…

Don't tell Lisanna I said that. She is really scary when she's mad.

I also notice something else. Lucy's body is cold, like ice. However, I can feel my body temperature evening out with hers until we have the same degree of heat. I wonder if all that bullying of the person who beat her up earlier made her this weak.

Dammit. Whoever did this to her, I'll make sure to give that person a beating.

"Natsu…" I hear Lucy say suddenly. "Natsu…" she says again.

Whenever she says my name, I feel like an electrical shock is running through my whole body. "W-What is it, Luce?" I ask.

"I… I'm sorry, for having you carry me… Am I heavy?" she says. I can feel her tears soaking up into my school blazer. I don't know why, but her crying makes my heart feel as though it has been broken into pieces. Painful. Stressful. Sad.

"It's fine," I reply. "You are really light. You should eat more."

Lucy makes a giggle. It sounds like the silver bells in Christmas. Beautiful. "I'll try," she says. I wish I could see the expression on her face. I bet it would be stunning and lovely… Well, problem is, her face is completely covered by my back.

Ugh, what am I thinking… I don't even understand myself. My heart beat is increasing. Oh no, I don't have a kind of heart disease or something right? The fingers on my hands holding her against my back are getting hotter every second that I carry her for.

Maybe I should check with the school doctor tomorrow. I may be sick or something.

"We're here," I hear Gray say.

"So…" Sting says. He takes a deep breath and stares at Lucy's front door. "Let's see if the king is truly still alive…" He takes his hand and places it on the door knob. For some reason, he seems to look nervous. His eyes show fear and anxiety, as if he had a fear of something in the house.

Slowly, he twists the door knob and opens the door. Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've went to Lucy's house through the front door. Last time, I went through her bedroom window. It was kind of funny to see her sleeping. I remember poking her cheek several times to get her to wake up and her adorable red dragon pajama dress. You have to admit it, that was pretty funny.

I feel someone poke my back. I turn around to see Lucy staring at me. Her face is too close… "Natsu, can I walk on my own from here?" she asks.

"But your bruise-" I start to say.

"I'm fine," Lucy replies with a smile.

I want to help Lucy. I don't want her to hurt herself. But I also want to allow her to do whatever she wants. I want to be her biggest support. I want to be the person she relies on the most. I want to be her most important person.

Slowly, I bend down and allow her to get off my back. Gradually, she stands up, but she falls down again. "Luce!" I shout. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lucy says. But her facial expression doesn't match her words at all. She is holding her bruised waist as she takes heavy breaths. Sweat is forming at the side of her cheek and a painful expression spreads through her face. Just seeing this makes me feel in pain as well.

I stick out my arm towards her and crouch next to her. "Hold onto my arm," I say. "It might help."

Lucy makes a gentle smile at me. Then she takes her hand and is about to hold my arm when Gray suddenly interferes.

"Hold it, Natsu," Gray says, glaring at me.

"What Gray?" I say. I don't know why, but my eyes are also sending daggers at him. He just irritates me so much. Why is he so protective of Lucy? Especially if it is me? It's not like Lucy is going to die if I touch her. Also, didn't he mention that Lucy was _immortal_?

"Don't touch Lucy," he says with an angered tone of voice. "I already allowed you to carry her. No more, I'm not going to risk it."

"Risk what?" I ask.

Gray rolls his eyes. "Don't you know that-"

"Her weakness is fire," Sting interrupts. "She is immortal like me, but she will die with even a quick touch of fire. In fact, the only thing that could kill Princess Layla-, I mean, Lucy, is fire. And you can use flames Natsu. We never know if you are planning to kill her."

"What are you saying?" I exclaim. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Sting…" Lucy says. "So that's why you wouldn't let me pat down the fire on my skirt earlier… Because you didn't want me to touch the fire…"

"Yes," Sting replies. "I'm sorry I didn't explain earlier, Princess Layla."

I slap Gray's hand away and hold onto Lucy's arm. "I'll hold her," I say. "I'm not going to kill her just because I can use fire whenever I want." I wish people would trust me. Lucy is my best friend. I would never do something like kill her. I can't believe Sting is acting like this also though. I thought Sting and I were best friends too!

As I am thinking this, suddenly, I feel a tender hand gently grab my arm. It is Lucy. She makes a smile at me. "I trust you Natsu," she says. "I trust you with my life… Even if you have magic that could kill me, I trust you because you are you... my best friend."

"Lucy…" My mouth slips out her name unintentionally. "Thank you… for trusting me…" I embrace her tiny body into my arms. "Thank you… Thank you," I keep saying over and over again. I begin to cry for some reason. I don't know why. I just weep. This time, it is my warm tears that are soaking into her school blazer.

I'm just so happy. I'm so happy that at least Lucy believes me. That is all I need now. Just Lucy's trust.

Slowly, Lucy and I loosen the hug. She smiles at me and wipes my tears with her hand. "Let's go see my dad," she says. "You'll hold me, right?"

"Right," I reply with a smile. "I'll protect you, Lucy."

It takes a while, but I manage to get Lucy's arm around mine and help her stand up. Slowly, we make it inside the house, together. Well, with Sting and Gray too.

"D-Dad," Lucy says in a weak voice. "I-I'm home…" Then she coughs. I hold her stomach tightly. She seems to be getting weak.

A blond man in a white suit walks to the front doorway and looks at Lucy. His eyes widen. "Lucy!" he exclaims. "What happened?"

"Dad, I-" Lucy starts.

"You aren't her father," Gray interrupts.

Lucy's father looks at Gray and smiles. "Oh Gray!" he says. "Welcome back! What joke are you telling this time?"

"He isn't telling a joke," Sting says. His eyebrows angle to the center of his face. "You are not Lucy's father, are you? Your presence doesn't feel the same or even similar to Lucy's."

Suddenly, Lucy's father's eyes turn into a stern glare. "What are you talking about? Who are you anyway? I've never seen you before."

"Don't change the subject," Gray states. "Ever since I met you, I had some suspicions about you…" Gray stares deeply into Lucy's father's eyes. "Give the princess's memories back, you fake memory maker."

"Wait!" I exclaim. "You guys are being rude! This isn't a way to talk to someone's father!"

"Dad…" Lucy says. "Is… Is this true?"

Lucy's father doesn't reply. His short bangs make a shadow on his eyes. I can not read his expression at all. Is he angry? Sad? Happy? I have no idea.

"Dad?" Lucy says again, but her father doesn't reply.

Lucy's eyes begin to tear up. "Dad? Please… tell me this isn't true!"

Slowly, the shadow around her father's eyes clear up, showing his eyes full of laughter. His mouth twitches into a smirk. "So what if it is true?" he says. Then he begins to laugh in an extremely creepy way. "I'm surprised you figured me out, Gray Fullbuster and Sting Eucliffe," he says, looking at Gray and Sting. "Or should I say, the ice magician and the white dragon?"

"D-Dad?" Lucy says again. "W-What are you saying-"

"I'm not your father, Lucy Heartfilia," he replies with a chuckle of laughter. "Oh yes, I should call you by your real name now, huh? Since you found out, Princess Layla Eucliffe."

"No… No!" Lucy exclaims. She grabs onto her head and digs her nails into her white skin. "No! Please tell me this is all a lie!"

Her father smirks and takes off his white suit. "Unfortunate for you," he says, "this isn't a lie. This is reality, Princess Layla."

Slowly, black and gray light wrap her father in a cocoon, making us unable to see him. All we can hear is his loud laughing within the light.

"Protect Lucy!" I hear Gray yell.

Suddenly, I hear an explosion and feel a blast of heat. My ears begin to ring loudly. The pressure from the explosion is so strong, I am falling backwards, hot wind blowing against my face. Quickly, I hold Lucy close to my chest. I wrap one arm around her shoulders and the other on her head as we fall to the ground. I can hear Lucy's tears streaming down her face and her sniffles.

"It's going to be okay... Luce," I say before the explosion envelopes us. "I'll protect you..."

**-End of Chapter 10-**

_**~ Metallic Snow**_


	11. Chapter 11: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

There is an explosion and Lucy and I are already being blown down to our feet just by the air pressure. I need to quickly think of something to save her. I have to.

The explosion is nearing. I quickly carry Lucy on my back and run as fast as I can out of that house. Once I reach the outside, I breathe in relief. Safe. At least, for now. However, now her house has been destroyed. I'm not sure how Sting and Gray are doing, but Gray told me to protect Lucy. That is what I will do. Definitely.

"Oh?" I hear a deep voice say behind me. "Not dead yet?"

I turn around. My eyes widen to see a man my age with black hair that streaked over his right eye. His eyes are ruby red and his clothes are completely black. "W-Who are you?" I ask stupidly. As if he would tell me.

Lucy jumps off my back and turns around. She makes a gasp of mixed feelings. "R-Rogue Cheney…" she stutters. "Wha… What are you doing here?"

Rogue Cheney? Isn't that the transfer student Gramps talked about? I am confused but I grasp onto Lucy's hand. All I know is that I have to protect her.

"That's right, Miss Heartfilia," Rogue says with the most eerie smile I have ever seen. "I used your father's image and copied his shadow."

"Wait!" Lucy shouts. "Where's my dad?"

"Stop acting dumb. Your father is dead," Rogue says. Then he laughs. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You are dumb and clueless. After all, I stole your memories, _Princess Layla_." That jerk. Stealing someone's memories is not a joke. Ugh, he makes me want to beat him up until his face isn't even distinguishable. Then, suddenly, his eyes trail to stare at mine. I gulp loudly. What is he thinking?

"Oh," he says. "Natsu Dragneel, correct?"

"Um…" I don't know what to reply.

He stares into my eyes as if he were looking up data about me. I want to stop staring at his eerie ruby red eyes but my eyes won't let me. It is as if he is forcing me to stare at him. "Natsu Dragneel. Age 16. Fire Dragon Slayer. Hobby: Football. Hates Gray Fullbuster and ice cream. Likes spicy sauces and Lucy Heartfilia," he suddenly says in a monotone voice.

"Wha… Wha… WHAT?!" I yell loudly. I can feel my blood rushing into my cheeks. "Stop scanning my brain!"

"Likes?" Lucy asks.

I stare into her eyes. "As a friend," I quickly add to the end of Rogue's sentence. Then I stare into Rogue's eyes. "Who are you?" I ask. Then I shake my head. "No, let me rephrase that. _What _are you?"

"I am like you," he replies. "I am a shadow dragon slayer, descendant of the Dragon Tribe. Which basically means I am related to you."

I put my hand on Lucy's shoulder and push her back. "Get back Lucy," I say in the calmest voice possible. "I'm going to use fire," I tell her, knowing that fire is her weakness of her immortality. When she is at a safe distance, I allow my fist to erupt in fire. "I don't care if you are a family member or not," I say to Rogue. I glare at him in the eye. "If you hurt Luce, you are no comrade. You are my enemy."

Quickly, I run towards him with my body cast in fire. Everything around me is blurred as I run. Once I get close enough, I jump to headbutt him.

However, in a blink of an eye, he disappears.

I run my head around. Where did he go? He was just here a second ago.

"Natsu! Behind you!" I hear a familiar voice shout. I think it was Gray.

I am about to look behind myself but I am too late. I feel a heavy jab into the spine of my back. "Ack!" I cough out. Just when I am about to fall to the floor, something punches me back on the face. My face feels like the rubber they use on car tires.

I fall to the side, bumping into a nearby fence. Pain disperses all over my body until I feel numb. "Natsu!" I hear Lucy scream. I can hear her footsteps running over to me in worry. No, Lucy… get out of here. Don't come close to me.

Slowly, I open my eyes. Everything is blurry. I can see a blob of blond hair, raven black hair, and another blond hair guy. I'm guessing that it's Lucy, Gray, and Sting. It takes a while but my vision eventually clears up, allowing me to see again.

Gray puts his fist over his hand. I see a mist of ice coming from his hand. "Ice Make…" He puts his arms up and shouts, "Hammer!"

My eyes widen to see a giant ice hammer form out of thin air above Rogue's head. What is this? How did he do that? He moves his arms as if he were about to slam the hammer onto the ground, aiming towards Rogue.

Just about when the hammer is about to hit Rogue, I see him do his creepy smirk. Just seeing it makes a shiver go down my spine. Then, in a blink of an eye, he disappears again, like how a sun would make a shadow disappear if shined upon.

"Holy ray!" I hear Sting yell. Suddenly, a bright light envelopes the whole area, making me blind of what was happening.

Ugh, I have to get up. Laying on the floor isn't going to help anyone. Slowly, I put my knee up ninety degrees and get up. I am so dizzy I can hear blood rushing in my ears. "Save… Luce…" I mutter to myself.

I close my eyes. I am guessing that since I can not see anything, I must sense their presences. But for some reason, I can not sense anything. Just the white light from Sting.

Suddenly, a black shadow appears in my vision. I gasp and turn around, but I am too late. "Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang," I hear someone mutter. Then I sense another shadow, surrounding me. Is this some kind of confusion or illusion type of magic? I don't know. My brain can not process the information.

Suddenly, I feel a hand jab me from behind. "Gak!" I cough out. Blood rushes out of my mouth like a broken faucet. All the sudden, I hear two other screams.

"Urk!" I think that was Gray.

"Ah!" I think that was Sting.

Once Sting screams, the white light that blinded me disappears, allowing me to use my senses again. Ugh, it stinks of human blood here, in fact, my whole nose is filled with it. There is so much blood, I can not even distinguish the smell of each persons' anymore. I can see Rogue, standing in the middle of all of us. But where is Lucy?

"This is nothing," Rogue says as he stares at us. "What the heck, I didn't even need to use Shadow Drive."

What is Shadow Drive? I wonder. I look around and gasp. Lucy is at Rogue's feet, having her blond hair pulled like grass. "Rogue…" I hear her mutter. "Please… stop this…" Tears begin to run through her eyes like a over flowing river. "Please... Rogue..." Her face scrunches up in pain as her eyes scream out with salty tears. "Rogue... Please... This isn't like you... The Rogue I know is kind..."

"Luce!" I scream. When Rogue sees me, I hear him sigh. Then he looks back at Lucy's pained face. My eyes widen in shock. To my surprise, his red eyes begin to tear up with sorrow. Just looking at those eyes makes me feel sympathy for him, even though I don't know what to sympathize for.

"I'm sorry... Lucy..." I hear him whisper with my sensitive hears, although I may have heard wrong.

He throws Lucy at me by her hair, some hair getting stuck onto his fingers, and then turns his back on me. Lucy crashes into my arms and screams in pain. "Luce! Are you okay?" I ask. I hug her tight. This time I won't let Rogue do anything to her. I am going to protect her.

I look at Rogue with a glare; however he doesn't seem to return it. Instead, his back is turned towards me so I can't see his expression, but for some reason, I can feel sadness from him, as if he was forced to do something he didn't want to do. My sensitive nose could smell the salty tears that he was hiding. Could it be that he still has a soft spot for Lucy…? That's impossible… right?

"Next time, I won't be so kind…" he says in a strong voice. "Next time, the person who will be holding the princess in his hands… will be me." Then in an instant, he is gone, as if he weren't there in the first place.

What in the world… was that? What does he mean by _holding the princess in his hands_? I'm so... confused...

**-End of Chapter 11-**

Hello! If this was a confusing chapter for any of you, please PM or review if you are a guest! I would be happy to explain anything. Thank you for reading this chapter!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	12. Chapter 12: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

It has been six months since Rogue Cheney beat us all up. I can still remember the pain in my head when he pulled my hair to force me to sit up. The other things that happened seem to be a little fuzzy. I can't remember anything else.

But there is something that I do remember.

That face.

That face Rogue had when he beat them up. Those tears that he shred. If maiming me hurt him so much, why did he do it in the first place? Ugh… There is still so much I don't understand.

He just looked so... sad. I wonder if I knew him in the past. I wonder if he is immortal like Sting and me too. Still, why did Rogue beat us up in the first place? All he did was appear, beat us up, and disappear. And to know that he was disguised as my father for the past years... Ugh, I don't have the memories of the _immortal _me so I don't understand a thing...

Well, let me summarize what happened these past six months:

After Rogue disappeared, the police found Gray, Sting, Natsu, and me, lying on the floor covered in our own blood. Immediately, we were put into the hospital.

The police tried to investigate what happened at the area, but they couldn't find anything. They couldn't find the culprit or what even happened at all. Well, obviously they wouldn't. Everything was caused by magic after all. It's impossible for ordinary humans like them to be able to wrap their minds around things like creating a gigantic hammer made of ice above someone's head when there wasn't even any water in the first place (Ahem. Gray).

Apparently, I was unconscious for two weeks. When I woke up, I was told that my house had been already destroyed by the mysterious explosion.

I still can't believe it though.

According to Sting and Gray, my entire life was a lie.

A lie huh… Sounds pathetic… Sounds hard to believe right? Even I couldn't believe it. So Gray asked me to recall the memories I had of him and me. Then I realized that I couldn't remember any specific memories. Just fuzzy ones that don't have a clear memory.

Also I realized that Gray was really my only friend I could recall. I couldn't remember having any other friends until my first year of high school.

Sting told me that my memories were taken that year, three years ago. And to confirm the fact that I was immortal was the fact that my hair never grew no matter how much I wanted it to. It was always shoulder length. To be honest, I never really thought about my hair growth that much.

Also, I never grew any taller. I was always the same height. And I never got acne, you know, the stuff that every teenager fears the most. It was as if my face was frozen in time.

Yeah, and now you're going to ask me, _how the hell did I never think about this at all?_ Gray says that Rogue probably controlled my thoughts to never really care or something like that.

What I think: What the heck.

So basically, my memories were taken about three years ago and replaced with new memories making me think I was an ordinary human being with Gray as a childhood friend. But here is my question:

If Rogue is my enemy, why did he even place a friend into my memories?

Apparently, Rogue tried to manipulate Gray's memories too into thinking I was his childhood friend. However, it didn't work on Gray because he was a wizard. Well, technically, I am a wizard too, so why did it affect me?

Answer: He let his guard down for Gray because he didn't know Gray was a wizard.

To be honest… it hurts. It hurts to be told that my whole life was a lie. It makes me cry… Every night, I can't stop thinking about it and end up crying myself to sleep. The fact that I had a loving father and mother was a lie. The fact that I had a life in this century was a lie. But what hurt the most was the lie that I had a childhood friend… Gray.

In my memories, Gray was the person who supported me the most. He was the one who was always by my side… like a brother. But he lied to me… But Gray lied to me… He betrayed me. He told me that he was my childhood friend even though inside he knew he wasn't. He lied.

Why?

Why… Gray?

Why did it have to be Gray and not someone else?

Why him…?

I feel betrayed.

Because my house had been destroyed, I decided to live with Gray since we basically lived together since we were childhood frien-

Sorry… I was about to say childhood friends until I remembered that we actually weren't…

Anyway, since I knew Gray longer than anyone else, I began to live with him. But that didn't change the fact that he betrayed me. I want to hate him.

I want to hate him so much.

I want to despise him.

But… I can't…

No matter how much I try, I can't hate him.

Because Gray is Gray…

Isn't that… strange?

I want to hate him. I want to despise him. I want to detest him. I want to loathe him. But I can't. I just can't. Even though I know he lied to me all this time… even though I know he is a fake person in my memories… I still can't hate him.

It's just so weird…

I always feel awkward around him now. I can't even bring myself to talk to him. Whenever I see him, I just turn around and run away. Even though we live together now, we still seem like strangers…

Sometimes… I wish I never learned that my whole life was just a simple… lie…

I would rather live in that lie than be so distant to Gray...

**OoO**

Right now, I am being the cliche anime girl and running with a piece of bread in my mouth to the train station… I'm going to be late for school! As I run, I keep remembering those times Gray would always wait for me in front of my house, no matter how late I was going to be… Now? He never did… After the incident, it just feels so awkward to be with each other…

Suddenly, I feel something wet drip down my cheeks. Oh no… am I… crying? No, no, I can't cry here like this. I quickly wipe away my salty tears and keep my head down so no one can see me crying. This is so humiliating… I don't bother to look at the traffic light to see if it is red or green. Almost no cars ever come to this crossroad anyway.

I miss him… Gray was like a brother to me… and now… even though he is so close to me in distance, he feels so far away like a stranger. If we were going to end up so distant, I would rather not have learned that my life was a lie. I would rather live thinking my life was just the way it was, perfect, even though it was a lie. Wouldn't I be able to live happier that way?

"Lucy! Watch out!" I hear a familiar voice shout, interrupting my thoughts. I think that was… Gray? Why is he shouting?

I pause and look around, seeing if I can spot Gray. _Where is he? Why is he here?_ I think excitingly. It's Gray! I thought he walked to school before me! I look to my right, but instead of seeing Gray, I see something else. My eyes widen to see a truck in high speed being driven towards me.

"LUCY!" I hear Gray scream again.

The truck is getting closer and I am frozen in shock.

Suddenly, I feel a strong hand push me off of balance, making me slide on the ground for about five feet, face first. The floor seems to burn as my skin tumbles on it, causing me to bleed a little.

Right after I slide on the floor causing bruises and new scratches to form, I hear a crash and a eerie sound of flesh being ripped apart. Then, I feel a splash of water fall on me like rain. I check my arm and see that the water is red, like blood. What was that? I slowly get up, turn around and gasp at the sight. My eyes widen and begin to tear up, blurring my vision. I want to puke at the sight.

A truck.

A man.

Blood splattered like paint.

No… This can't be happening.

"GRAY!" I scream.

**\- End of Chapter 12 -**

I know this chapter doesn't sound very NALU, but this is still a NALU fanfic. Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next chapters!

_**~ Metallic Snow**_


	13. Chapter 13: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Those are the only sounds that prove Gray is still alive.

I look at Gray. Every single part of him seems to be bleeding. I can see his inner flesh on his stomach and his broken bones on his legs sticking out of his flesh. Just seeing him like this makes me feel like a part of me is dying.

What was I thinking? This is all my fault. Because of me, Gray may not make it. Even now he is still bleeding. Why… Why did I not look at the traffic light at that time… If I did, I would have prevented this from happening. How could I just _assume_ that there weren't any cars going by?

Why am I so… foolish?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I hear the sounds of the heart monitor again. The beeps are getting longer, not a good sign.

I look around myself, I am in the emergency room with Gray at the hospital. On every side of Gray, are doctors and nurses, trying to help him survive this.

But I already know that it is impossible.

Gray is going to die.

Because of me.

My heart drops. I know that Gray's death is going to be inevitable… I know that the reason for him lying on this hospital bed is my fault… Yet… for some reason, I am not crying. I just can't. Tears just aren't coming. I want to cry but I can't.

What kind of friend am I to not cry?

I am so selfish…

Suddenly, I hear familiar coughs, interrupting my train of thought. I quickly avert my eyes to Gray again and gasp. His eyes are half way open. He is awake.

He is alive.

"Gray!" I exclaim. Quickly, I hold his hand with both of mine. I don't care that my shirt and hands are getting stained with his blood. I am just so happy that he is alive.

I don't care that Gray is a fake person in my memories anymore. I don't care that he was actually not my childhood friend. Either way, he was my first friend in my memories. He is still Gray, my best friend.

"Lu… cy…" Gray says in a weak voice. "Lu… cy…"

"Gray!" I exclaim. "Thank goodness! I was so worried-"

"I'm sorry," a doctor behind me suddenly interrupts. He lowers his face mask and looks at me in the eye. His eyes show grief. I gulp. I have a feeling that what he is about to say will not be good news. "I'm afraid that… we can not do anything… Mister Gray Fullbuster… doesn't have long…" he says in a quiet voice.

"What…?" I ask. My eyes widen. I am about to say something else but my voice doesn't come out. I am speechless. My mouth is left wide and I feel heartbroken... Yet... tears still do not come out of my eyes. Why am I still not crying? My best friend is going to die. And it is inevitable. Because of me. And I am still not crying or even shedding one tear.

The doctor bows to me and calls all of the other nurses and doctors out. "I will leave you two alone for your last moments together…" Then he also leaves along with the others.

No.

**No.**

"Gray…" I choke out. "No…" I wrap my arms around Gray's body, hugging him tight. I can feel his blood soak into my school uniform, but I could care less. How much blood is he losing? I think. I hold him tightly, as if I were hanging on him for dear life. "Please… don't die… I need you Gray… Don't... Don't leave me..."

"Lu… cy… Li-Listen to me…" Gray says. Even though he is dying, his eyes still look as gentle as ever. He is still the same Gray I have always known.

"Why did you save me?" I ask Gray. The beeps in his heart monitor are getting longer and longer. My heart pounds in fear. "Why?!" I scream. "I'm immortal! I can't die! You are a mortal Gray! You'll die! It's impossible for me to die Gray! Only fire is can kill me! A-A mere crash into a truck can't hurt me… so why?" I feel like crying, but tears still will not come out. "Gray… answer me…"

"Lu… Lucy… I-" Gray says, but I interrupt him again.

"I don't care that you are a fake person in my memories! I don't care that you are not actually my childhood friend!" I yell. "Gr-Gray is… Gray is still my best friend! Gray is still like an older brother to me! I still love you Gray!" By love him, I meant it as a sibling kind of love. "So don't throw away your life so easily like this!"

Gray makes a gentle smile at me. "E-Even… if you are immortal… y-you c-can still feel p-pain, r-right?" he says in a feeble voice. He sounds so frail, unlike the usual Gray. However, he still makes that warm smile as he talks to me as if he is not hurting at all.

"You idiot..." I say. "Even if I could feel the pain... I would still heal right away! Why would you save me just so I couldn't feel the pain?! I would rather be crushed by trucks an infinite amount of times than to lose you Gray!"

Gray still looks at me with those eyes that he had used to watch me all this time. "I… I saved you because…" Tears begin to stream down his eyes. The blood flowing from his temple makes me want to cry even more, yet tears still are not coming. Blood begins to gush out of his mouth as he tries to open his mouth to speak.

"Stop talking Gray!" I scream. "Stop it! You're going to die even faster if you talk!"

"I saved you because…" Gray says again. His hand trembles as he puts it against my cheek. Even though he is dying, his hands feel so… warm. The warmth of his hand seems to spread along my cheek. It hurts, yet it feels so comforting and gentle… like Gray. His eyes are also still gentle despite his tears and blood. "I… I love you… Lucy... not as a sibling… but as a man-"

Suddenly, the hand he had on my cheek drops and the heart monitor next to his bed makes a long beep sound. His eyes are still open like a doll. They look like glass, lifeless.

"GRAY!" I scream. Without my consent, tears finally drip down from my eyes. "Gray… Gray… Gray…" I keep repeating his name over and over again. I can't stop. My tears are being soaked up by his already soaked up by blood uniform. "Gray… wake up… I still haven't replied to your confession yet…" I cry silently.

But Gray doesn't reply. His eyes are wide open, but he is dead. And I know it. Yet, I can not accept it. Gray can not die… Gray is like a part of me… If he dies, then I feel like a part of me will also die. I can't be the same Lucy I have always been without my best friend, Gray.

"Gray!" I shout even louder. "You're a man right?! Listen to my reply!"

Gray still doesn't reply.

He's gone.

He's gone.

Gray is gone.

**Gray Fullbuster is dead.**

And it was all my fault. If I just looked at that traffic light instead of moping to myself thinking that I was _betrayed_ and all, Gray would still be alive.

I look into Gray's eyes one last time. However, his image is blurred due to my tears. I put my hand on his cheek for the last time and hold that hand which has been protecting me for three whole years for the last time. Slowly, I bend down and kiss my best friend on the forehead as I use my other hand to close his eyelids, covering his lifeless navy blue eyes.

"I loved you Gray…" I say quietly as salty tears fall out of my eyes. "But that love was a sibling's love… not the love of a lover… I'm sorry but… I can't accept your feelings…"

Tears begin to force their way out of my eyes again like river, flowing from my eyes to the tip of my chin. Why did I have to fall in love with Natsu? Why couldn't it be Gray? I just couldn't see Gray the way I saw Natsu. To me, Gray would and always be my brother and my best friend… not a lover.

"I'm sorry… Gray…" I whispered into his ear. I wish he could hear me. I wish I could be wrapped around his arms just one last time. I wish I could be holding his hand, walking to school together one last time in our black blazers and red ties. Why did he have to die? Why couldn't it be me lying on that hospital bed? I was the one who should have died. Not Gray.

So why does it always have to be Gray who suffers for me?

"Gray…" I whisper quietly. "Please… wake up… Please... H-Hold my hand at least one last time…" My eyes cry so much that they begin to bleed a little from the salt in my tears. "Answer me Gray…" I say again, hugging him tighter. I don't care that his blood is staining my clothes. I just want him to answer me. I want to hear his voice for at least one last time.

Tears keep pouring out of my eyes like a waterfall. "Come on Gray..." I say as I hug Gray's body again. I hold him even tighter. "Come on Gray... Wake up already... It's getting late... It's... It's time to go home..."

Gray still doesn't speak.

"It's getting late Gray..." I say again. "Come on... we have to head home now..."

But he couldn't answer. He just couldn't. He was dead, gone. And it was all my fault.

I killed Gray.

**\- End of Chapter 13 -**

Please review! And thank you for reading this chapter! Please look forward to the next one!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	14. Chapter 14: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

I am standing in front of a hospital room in the emergency section with Sting. Inside the hospital room is Gray and Lucy. I want to go in but I can't go. I just can't. I feel like I should be leaving Gray and Lucy alone. Especially after I hear this from a doctor inside:

"_**I'm afraid that… we can not do anything… Mister Gray Fullbuster… doesn't have long…"**_

No way. Gray is going to… die? With my sensitive ears, I can hear Lucy and Gray's conversation. I think Sting can hear it too since he was originally a dragon. I keep listening until my eyes go wide, hearing Gray say something that blew my mind.

"_**I… I love you… Lucy... not as a sibling… but as a man-"**_

After that, my sense of hearing seems to be destroyed. I mean, I always knew that Gray was in love with Lucy but hearing it like this in this situation just… I don't know… Hurts. Like wanting to give something really important away to someone in need but selfishly keeping it instead.

All the sudden, I hear a loud cry. It sounds like Lucy. My nose fills up with the smell of salty tears. "GRAY!" I hear her yell. "Gray! Gray! Gray!"

My heart drops. Just from smelling Lucy's tears, I can tell what had just happened.

Gray had passed away.

Suddenly, tears flow out of my eyes as I think about Gray's death. Wait what? Why am I… crying? Gray and I despised each other. We even hated being in each others presence… So why am I crying?

I look to my right and see Sting crying also. What the heck Gray… Why did you have to leave us behind… We still need you! Are you just going to die and let us cry like this?

"Gray…" I whisper his name.

All the sudden, my ears can pick up Lucy's voice again. It is quivering, shaky, and has fear in it. "It's getting late Gray..." I hear her say. "Come on... We have to head home now.." Then I hear her cry some more.

I wonder what is she thinking right now. I wonder what kind of things are running through her mind. All five of my senses tell me she is crying, so hard that the skin on her face is slightly ripping apart, causing her to bleed a little. I have never heard or smelled someone cry so hard in my life.

I can't take it anymore. I can't just leave Lucy in that room by herself to cry. Instantly, I get up and hurriedly walk over to wear Lucy is.

"Natsu!" Sting shouts. I know why he said my name. I promised him that I would not interrupt Lucy or Gray but I can't just leave her in that room like that. I just can't. I'm sorry Sting but I am breaking our promise.

I abruptly open the door, slamming it against the wall, revealing Lucy crying on Gray's chest, screaming. Immediately, my nose fills up with the odor of human blood. Even though I open the door so loudly, Lucy does not look up.

I know why she doesn't. I have experienced something similar to this. By similar, I mean the time my dad passed away. I too was crying next to his bed, laying my head on his chest. And because I was so in agony, my senses dulled, allowing me to not be able to hear, smell, see, say, or feel anything. Also, my reasoning was gone. I went berserk. All I could do was scream.

And right now, Lucy is going through exactly what I have gone through. Slowly, I walk towards her. She is still crying and screaming and doesn't notice me at all.

I remember when Dad died. When he died, I felt like a large part of me had just died with him. All I wanted at that moment was someone, anyone, to hug me. I wanted someone to hug me and fill up that gap I had just lost in my life.

As I approach Lucy, I bend down and hug her tight from behind. I hear her gasp and suddenly cry even more. I pull her away from Gray, being near all that blood is not good for her. I know that from experience.

"Stop it Natsu!" Lucy screams as she tries to struggle out of my grasp. "Let me go back to Gray! Let me go!"

In reply, I hug her even tighter. "I-It's going to be okay… Luce…" I say to her in a quiet voice.

"Let me go!" Lucy screams again. "Leave me alone with Gray! You don't understand! Gray was… Gray was my-"

"I do understand!" I yell back at her. "I-I'm crying too Luce! Even though Gray and I hated each other… We were still friends! Even… Even I'm sad too… so stop hurting yourself…"

Slowly, Lucy stops struggling in my arms and just stands there. She calms down. All I do is hug her and all she does is stand there and stare at Gray while crying for about five to ten minutes. We don't do anything else.

"T-Thank you…" Lucy suddenly says. "T-Thank you… Natsu… for helping me calm down…"

I put my head on her shoulder as I hug her from behind. "It's fine…" I reply.

Suddenly, Lucy quickly turns around to face me and hugs me tight. I can smell and feel her salty tears soaking up in my uniform. "N-Natsu…" she cries. "Natsu… Natsu… Natsu…"

I gently smile at her and hold her around her waist with my left arm. I use my right arm to pet her on the head to calm her down a little more. "Luce…" I say. "It's okay now… Gray is resting in a nice place watching over us with both your parents and my dad…"

"No, it's not okay…" Lucy replies. Her voice is muffled by my clothes. My eyes widen. Why?

As if Lucy read my mind, she answers my question. "The reason why Gray died was… me…" she says. Tears begin to force their way out of her eyes even faster. "I-I was crossing the street… a-and I didn't look at the traffic light… A-And then a truck was about it hit me-"

I interrupt her by stopping the petting I was doing on her head and hug her even more tightly. I can already tell where she is going by her words. I can already predict what she is about to say. In short, Gray probably saved her from that truck.

I have heard things like this happen in dramas and tragedies before. I never thought it could happen in real life though. I want to tell her that it isn't her fault that Gray died but I knew that was probably not going to help.

Lucy's tiny hands grab the end of my shirt tightly, as if doing that will take away all her pain. "Gray… Gray…" she keeps saying over and over again.

I pat her on the head again. Her usual angelic blond hair is covered in Gray's dried up blood. As I touch her head, her hair seems all dry unlike the usual. She seems so weak. Yet to me, she still looks like an angel.

**OoO**

Every day after that, Lucy would never come to school. She always locked herself into that house Gray and she shared. It always made me worried. Everyday, I would go up to that house, knock on the front door, and say, "Luce, are you all right? Luce? Please… answer me…" But she would not come out. She didn't reply. She didn't say a word.

After a week, I could not take it anymore.

I had to get to Lucy.

I was already forgetting what her angelic blond hair looked like. I was already forgetting her smile that she showed me always.

I run over to Gray's house which is now Lucy's. However, the train is an hour delayed due to an accident so I had to run. I don't care about how tired I am. I have to sprint there. I need to see Lucy as soon as possible.

When I reach to Lucy's (Gray's) house, I drop to my knees in front of the front doorstep. Tears begin to run down my eyes. I pound my fist on the door, once, twice, thrice. No answer.

"Luce…" I say, trying to hide the sniffles I make. "Luce… Open up… Open up Luce…"

No answer.

"Luce!" I cry out as I continue to pound my hard fist against the door. I don't bother hiding the sound of my tears through my voice anymore. "Lu-Luce… I need to see you… I need to see your face…"

Suddenly, I hear sniffles from tears on the other side of the door with my sensitive ears. That was definitely Lucy. I know that sound from anywhere. Lucy is crying.

"Luce! Please! Let me in…" I cry. I pound the door again with my now bruised fist. "Gr-Gray… Gray wouldn't have wanted this! Luce! Please… stop doing this…"

"St-Stay away from me…" I hear a soft voice say from the other side. It is Lucy's voice. It has been so long since I heard that sweet voice I have almost forgotten what it sounded like. It makes tears stream out of my eyes like a river yet again.

"Luce! I would never do that!" I scream. "I would never stay away from my best friend! Luce, I need you, okay? I could never separate myself from you so… please… stop this…"

"I-I'm a murderer, Natsu…" her voice sounds from the door's other side again. "I-I killed Gray… I might kill y-you too… So please… Stay away from me-"

I can't hear this anymore. I can't listen to that crying voice anymore. I can't stand listening to her suffer like this. I can't stand hearing her say such things about herself.

I stand up and kick her door down.

I don't care about the damages at the moment. I just need to see Lucy.

Once the door falls down, I see Lucy, lying on the hallway's wooden floor. She looks gaunt and sickly. Since when was she so slim? Her eyes widen when she sees me. They are red and puffy, bloodshot.

Oh my gosh…

Since when was she so weak and… frail…?

Quickly, I run over to her and hug her tight, as tight as possible. I can't take it anymore. Her figure feels even smaller than she used to be. She must have lost a lot of weight.

"Oh my god… Luce…" I say as I hug her tight. "Luce… Luce… Luce…" I can not stop repeating her name over and over again. She seems so weak, like paper… easy to crumble into pieces.

Lucy doesn't hug me back. All she does is sit there in my embrace. But she is crying. I can feel her warm tears soak into my school blazer. "N-Natsu…" she silently says into my ear after ten minutes of just hugging her. Then her tiny frail arms wrap around my back.

"S-Stay away from me…" she says. "I-I'm a murderer… I killed Gray… It was my fault-"

"Shut up!" I yell. I know saying that isn't going to help but I can't help it. "I don't like hearing Luce say that! Luce isn't a murderer! So stop saying such things…" I hug her even tighter. "Please… don't Luce… It hurts my heart too…"

We just sit there, hugging each other for so long that I don't even know. After maybe an hour, Lucy suddenly says something again.

"Gray confessed to me…"

Even though Gray is gone now, I still feel a pang in my heart. I wonder if she accepted his confession. Perhaps the reason why she is locking herself up like this is because she loved him so much. I don't know but just the thought makes me slightly upset.

"How did you reply?" I ask her.

"I-I rejected him…" Lucy says. Her tears fall even faster into my blazer, soaking it up even more. "E-Even though he was dying, I rejected him Natsu! I-I just couldn't see him as a lover… I-I… I just thought of him as a brother-like figure the whole time…"

I hug Lucy more tightly and pet her on the head. Her beautiful blond hair is no longer as soft as it used to be, but it is still her. It still feels like her. I bury my head in her hair and cry into it. I can not believe what I am thinking right now. How selfish of me to think this:

I am glad she rejected the dead man, Gray.

I am so selfish. I am so greedy. What is wrong with me? I am happy about a dead man being rejected. What… What the hell is wrong with me…?

"Luce… You've gotten more gaunt…" I say. "Come on, I'll cook you something to eat." I pick her up bridal style and set her on the couch. Then I go into her kitchen, but before that, I turn around and look into her eyes.

"U-Um... Luce... No matter how much you think of yourself as a murderer... I still think you are perfect..." I add. I can feel my face redden and my blood going through my veins. Suddenly, the temperature seems to be getting higher in the room. "Umm... I'll cook you something now."

After that, every day in the morning before school and in the afternoon until night after school, I would visit the house and make something for Lucy to eat, knowing that she would not cook for herself. Since she could not digest very well, I would only cook porridge for her. Also, I fixed the door that I broke the other day.

After two weeks, Lucy began to go to school again. However, she wasn't as healthy as before. And she stopped smiling. Never again I saw that beautiful smile of hers anymore. It disappeared along with Gray, as if that smile never existed in the first place.

The following week is Gray's funeral. As I watch Gray's body being put into the hole, I cry. My rival… my enemy… my friend is officially part of the dead. I stare at his snow white skin and his closed eyelids through my blurred eyesight due to my tears.

He is gone.

Then I look to my right to see Lucy, standing beside me. To my surprise, she isn't crying at all. All she does is stare at Gray. I can't tell what she was thinking at all. She just seems so distant. Is she sad? Is she stressed? I don't know. I can't read her facial expression at all.

The happy Lucy I knew is now emotionless. Void of emotions.

Gently, I put my arm around Lucy and hug her tight. "It… It's okay to cry Luce…" I say to her. But she doesn't respond. All she does is stand there in her black dress with her emotionless face.

Then, after the funeral, I walk Lucy back to her house. She opens the front door with the key and walks inside, not even bothering to say goodbye to me. The door shuts in front of my face.

Of course I know Lucy is being a bit rude right now, but I can't blame her. When my father passed away, I too became emotionless like this and became rude to others who tried to help. And then, I would always cry alone.

I am about to turn and leave Lucy's house when suddenly, I hear a soft cry come from inside. It is Lucy. Again she is crying… alone.

**\- End of Chapter 14 -**

I am sorry about the boring chapter! I promise the next one will not be so boring!

_**~ Metallic Snow **_


	15. Chapter 15: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Right now I am in front of Lucy's house, preparing to walk her to school like usual. Ever since Gray passed away, Lucy seemed to have a fear of crossing roads by herself. Of course I don't blame her. After something like that, anyone would be afraid.

Suddenly, the door opens and I see Lucy in her school uniform and red tie. She seems to be all right. I stick my hand out to her. "Come on," I say. "I'll walk you to school today…"

She stares at my hand for a while and then takes it, again her face is emotionless. I can not help but worry about her. She used to be easy to read, like a book, but now she is the exact opposite.

While we are walking Lucy suddenly says, "Thank you… Natsu," and then stares deeply into the ground again, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

All the sudden, the weather seems to get hotter, but only for my face and the hand Lucy is holding. I do not understand why. It is just so odd.

I guess I should summarize what happened after Gray passed away…

When Lucy finally started to come back to school, she had lost her two best friends, Erza and Juvia. As you know, Juvia was deeply in love with Gray so she blamed Lucy for Gray's death. Erza went along with her.

Lucy also quit the Prince Natsu Fan Club, which is my fan club. I don't know why she decided to do that. According to her, that was her favorite club. She also quit cheerleading, despite being the most experienced and the captain. The only thing she did not quit was the Art Club; however, she barely attends that club at all. Usually, she would go directly home with me. She was too scared to go alone.

About Rogue, the guy who beat us up. He just simply disappeared from everyones lives. I don't really understand it but whenever I asked one of my classmates about Rogue, they reply saying, "Who is that?" or "What are you talking about?" None of them remember him except for Sting, Lucy, and me.

I just want to see Lucy's angelic smile again. I want to see those chocolate brown eyes light up to whatever I say… I just want Lucy to be… like she used to be.

Why did you have to die… Gray?

**OoO**

It is finally after school. I walk over to Lucy's last class to pick her up, but she is not there. I check the date. It is a Monday. Oh yeah! Monday is the day the Art Club meets! I smile. At least Lucy is finally attending her clubs.

I run over to the art wing of my school and find Lucy alone in a dark classroom. She is painting a picture, but it is too dark for me to see it. Slowly, so I don't startle her, I walk towards her. My eyes widen to see the picture. It is Gray in our school uniform, colored in detail. His raven black hair is perfectly depicted and his red tie shines in the sunlight coming through the ajar door. It looks so... realistic.

I am about to say something when suddenly a hand grabs me on my wrist. I am about to yell in surprise when I turn around to see Sting. He puts his finger on his lips to signal for me to be quiet. Then he pulls me out of the room, out of Lucy's hearing range.

"What was that for Sting?" I ask my former best friend in an irritated tone. Well, I am not even sure if we are best friends or not anymore. He doesn't even trust me with Lucy. He thinks that I am going to _kill _her just because I can use fire, her weakness. Then again, _anyone _can use fire. All he or she has to do is light a stove. Easy.

"Just…" I notice that instead of an alarmed look on his face, he has a frown. "Just… leave her alone for now… I think she needs some space…" he says.

"O-Oh…" I reply. I look back into the dark room with Lucy inside and back at Sting. "All right then… but I still have to wait for her to walk her home."

"This club doesn't end until five o'clock," Sting says. "Come on, I… I need to tell you something… Important. Come with me." At first I think he is just kidding around, but when I look at his eyes, I can tell he is serious.

"Sure," I casually reply.

**OoO **

Sting and I walk out of the school and walk along a park for children. We sit on a bench and watch the little school children play for a while. Sting doesn't say anything. Even though he brought me here, he doesn't say a word.

"Hey," Sting suddenly says. My heart jumps in surprise. Woah, he scared me for a bit there. "Um… about what I had to tell you…"

"W-What is it?" I reply. I look at Sting. He has a pained face and his hands are folded together in tight fists. He looks as though he is about to cry.

"What's wrong?" I ask. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Don't force yourself."

"N-No," Sting replies. Tears seem to force their way through his eyes. He is crying. Now what I think about it, this is the first time I have ever seen him cry.

"N-Natsu… I-I'm just so worried about… Layla…" he says as he cries. He buries his eyes into the palms of his hands. "Layla… I mean Lucy… I… I have never seen her like this before… ever. Even though she lost her memories... she was always smiling, no matter what... Just like she used to... but now..."

Sting… He has known Lucy since who knows when. Probably, a couple hundred years. By looking at his pained face and crying royal blue eyes, suddenly I notice something.

Would any friend cry this hard for someone they just considered their _friend_?

No. There is no way.

My eyes widen.

Could Sting be… in love with Lucy?

Suddenly, my heart seems to drop. My head feels light and I can feel a storm of butterflies in my stomach. No way… Right?

"Natsu… please believe me when I tell you this… you must never tell Lay- Lucy though…" Sting says. He wipes his tears with his sleeve and then looks straight into my jet black eyes. "Please," he says.

"I-I'll listen," I say. "Listen Sting, it's okay if you are in love with Lu-"

"Have you ever thought that Lucy and I looked… similar?" Sting interrupts. He points to his blond hair. "Like our hair."

Hmm… I close my eyes and imagine Lucy's face. Her glimmering golden blond hair and her chocolate brown eyes. That smile she used to always give me to cheer me up. Everything about her is perfect and adorable…

Wait, what the heck am I thinking? I quickly shake my head and open my eyes to look at Sting. Now that I think about it, he also has that golden blond hair, the exact same color as Lucy's. However, his eyes are royal blue, not chocolate brown. I look at his face features. Other than the eyes, they are very similar to Lucy's.

… Why?

"We are pretty similar… aren't we?" Sting says, interrupting my thoughts. "Except for our eyes right?"

I nod. It is true. They look almost identical, now that I think about it. Sting looks like the male version of Lucy and Lucy looks like the female version of Sting. I wonder why I never noticed this.

Sting takes a deep breath. He looks into my eyes again. "The… The truth is…" As if he can not look at me anymore, he stares back into the ground. "T-The truth is… Lucy… no… Layla Eucliffe is… my twin sister."

**\- End of Chapter 15 -**

_**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:**_

**I will be changing the title of FANGIRLS NEVER WIN to THE IMMORTAL PRINCESS starting the next chapter. Thank you for reading.**

Hello! I am really sorry for the late update! School has just started a week ago for me and homework has really been piling up! I am truly sorry! Thank you for being patient with me and waiting for my next chapter without any complaints!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	16. Chapter 16: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Twins. Twins. Twins.

I do not believe my ears. Did Sting just say that Lucy was his twin sister?

"Umm… Can you repeat that?" I ask him, awestruck.

Sting lets out a sigh. "You heard me… Layla is my twin sister."

Layla is? I mean Lucy. I can not believe it. That is just… impossible. I mean, they might look the same but Sting is an immortal _dragon_ and Lucy is an immortal _human_. They just can't be twins.

"Wait, but Sting- I mean, Weisslogia-"

"Just call me Sting."

"Um… okay Sting," I say. "Anyway, how are you two… twins…? I thought you were a dragon." Now that I think about it, I have never actually seen Sting turn into a dragon before. I wonder how he looks like.

Sting scratches his head and stares at his feet. Then he looks at me. "Listen, I wasn't always a-"

_BAM._

We hear an explosion nearby. It is behind us. Instantly, I turn my head around to see the art wing of Fairy High in flames.

Fire…Wait a second... wasn't Lucy in the art wing for club...? "Lucy!" Immediately, I get up and run towards that area. I don't have time to shout Lucy's name in fear. All I know is one thing. Lucy is in danger. Fire could kill her!

I sprint towards the art wing with Sting following me. I can hear screaming louder and louder as I run, screams of fear and panic from both male and female running away from the art wing. As I approach it, suddenly, someone grabs me from behind by pulling my shirt, hard. The fabric feels like it's cutting my skin.

"No going any farther than this," a deep voice says behind me. Then I see policemen putting yellow tape around the building as it is on fire in front of me. I turn around to see Mr. Alberona (Gildarts).

"But Mr. Alberona!" I yell loudly. I yell so loud that the whole school seems to be staring at me. But I could care less about the embarrassment. I am more worried about Lucy. "My friend is in there! Luce is in there!" I scream as I try to get his grip off me. "Let me go!"

"Firefighters will save your friend," he replies. "Now hurry up and escape. Save your own life-"

I push his arm away and quickly sprint. I don't care about what he says. Lucy is going to die at this rate. Even just one small touch of fire will kill her. I can not risk that. Ever. I have to go in there.

"NATSU!" I hear Mr. Alberona yell. "GET BACK HERE!"

But I ignore him.

I jump into the flaming building and look around. The heat would probably be extreme if it wasn't for my immunity to fire and heat. The building is covered with the heavy scent of smoke and fire. Luckily, fire doesn't affect me so I just run through the fire, looking for the classroom Lucy is in.

"LUCE!" I shout. "LUCE WHERE ARE YOU?!"

I use my sensitive ears and pick up a small cry, "Natsu!"

I run towards the place where I heard her voice and turn a corner, revealing Lucy near a pile of burning rubber. Her face is dirtied with dirt, probably because she tripped or fell. "Luce!" I yell. I run towards her, going through a fire and hug her small skinny body tight. "Thank goodness you are all right…" Tears flow from my eyes just from relief. I feel her wrap her arms around me also. Her wet tears soak into my school blazer.

I look at her body. It is covered in bruises. I worry about that of course but what is more important is that she is alive. Now I have to get her out of here. But… how? The fire is spreading closer and closer to where we are sitting. I need to figure out a way.

I touch the fire with my finger. I wonder… how does fire taste?

I know. That's a pretty stupid thing to think about at the moment, especially since we are in a life or death situation. However, being the idiot I am, I stick my head in the fire and open my mouth to suck up the fire.

To my surprise, the fire tastes sweet, not candy sweet, but… bittersweet. The fire going down from my mouth makes me feel all fuzzy and warm, in a good way. It tastes like… mixed feelings…

What? Mixed feelings could have a flavor.

Okay… maybe not. But it really does give me that feeling.

I suck in all of the fire in our way into my mouth and eat it all in one gulp. I feel a surge of power that seems to burst out of me. Then, I grab Lucy's hand, help her get up and run out of the corner we were sitting in. I eat the fire as we run; however, I do not eat all of it or else the teachers and firemen would be suspicious. I mean, if the fire all the sudden disappeared, imagine what would happen.

Suddenly, Lucy trips on a rock. Behind her, part of a ceiling falls off. I quickly pull her away with my hand locked in hers. I hold her tight to protect her. Luckily, the ceiling barely misses us. However, the building's structure is becoming weak. We need to escape, now.

I pull Lucy's hand again so we can run, but suddenly, she makes a squeak with a pained look on her face. She falls to the ground again, but this time, she doesn't even trip over anything. She just falls. "Ugh..." she mutters in pain. She puts her hand over her ankle.

"What happened Luce?" I say desperately. I kneel down so I can see her face more clearly. "Are you all right?"

I watch her grasp onto her ankle in pain. Sweat drops down her face. "I… I think I twisted my ankle…"

My eyes widen, but we do not have time to look at her ankle. We have to escape now. The building could fall any minute. With my quick thinking, I put my arms around the back of her shoulders and the back of her thighs. Then I get up and run, carrying Lucy bridal style. Of course I am blushing, but this isn't the time to think about my embarrassing red face. I have to save Lucy.

Suddenly, as I run with Lucy is my arms, a shadow begins to envelope us, until the world turns pitch black. I can sense that the fire is gone. How did that happen? Are we even inside the building anymore? "What's happening?" I hear Lucy ask in a quiet afraid voice. I can still feel her in my arms, so I can tell that we are still together. However, I can not see a thing. It is dark.

"Don't worry Luce… Just stick with me," I say, holding her more tight. "I'll protect you."

I can not see her face, but I hear her say, "Okay…"

All the sudden, a light from a distance shines. To my surprise, it is Sting. "Sting!" I shout. Quickly, I run towards him with Lucy in my arms. I can see him notice me as well. He also runs towards me.

"Natsu!" he shouts. Then he sees Lucy in my arms. His eyes widen. "Lucy! What happened?!"

"She twisted her ankle," I say quickly. "What is happening? What is this darkness?" I ask. Then I look at him. My eyebrows rise in confusion when I see this odd aspect of him. "And why are you the only one glowing?"

"I am the white dragon," he replies. "My body is basically light. Anyway, this is most likely Rogue's doing…"

Rogue huh… That shadow dragon slayer who was trying to murder us. Ever since he appeared, everything in my life just went… chaotic. "If it is Rogue… Where is he?"

Suddenly, Lucy grasps her head with her two little hands. "Rogue… Rogue… Why do I feel like he is so… familiar…?" she asks with her soft tone of voice.

I look at Sting in confusion to see him staring at Lucy's direction with his melancholy eyes. He mouths the words, _I'm sorry_, and then turns around. "I don't know," he says. "But we need to find Rogue and make sure this ends. Come on guys."

We begin to run around; however, the more we run, the more lost I feel. The only thing I can see is Sting glowing bright. For some reason, I do not bump into anything. It is as if the only thing that exists in this place is darkness.

"Rogue!" I hear Sting scream. I look up and to my surprise, I can see a gray shadow, walking towards us. The rest of him is black. The only thing that glows from him is his red eye.

"Hand her over," he says. His gray shadow moves towards us, showing his hand stuck out. "Hand her over," he says again in an impatient tone.

"Who?" I stupidly ask. Who else would he be talking about? Lucy is the only female here.

"Layla Eucliffe," Rogue replies. "Hand the princess over."

"Dammit," Sting swears. "Like we are just going to do that." His hand glows with white light and he charges towards Rogue in the speed of light. I can not hear anything. He is so fast that his movements are impossible to see.

Suddenly, Rogue seems to vanish and blend into the darkness. I grasp onto Lucy's hand in fear. What is happening? I am so confused and… scared. All the sudden, I feel Lucy being yanked out of my hand and then my hand doesn't feel anything.

Lucy isn't beside me anymore.

"LUCE!" I shout. But it seems as though my voice just spreads throughout the endless darkness. I can not see a thing and I am too scared to use my fire to see. If Lucy is actually beside me and I accidently kill her with my fire, that would be fatal. I can not risk that.

I see Sting in the distance running towards me. Suddenly, I wish that I used white dragon slayer magic. It would be a whole lot more useful.

Sting stops running once he gets next to me, pants a little, and then looks at me in the eyes. His royal blue eyes are bright with anger and fear… and also tears. He looks afraid… so afraid.

"N-Natsu…" he says as he pants. He puts his hand on my shoulder and tries his best to not cry. "I really don't have a choice anymore… Do I?" His eyes look at me as if he is pleading for his life. "I won't make it out of here… Natsu…" he says.

My eyes widen. What in the world is he talking about? "Sting!" I shout. "Stop freaking out! We are going to get through this together! NONE OF US ARE GOING TO DIE! We are… comrades… right?" I pull his arm. "Come on, we have to chase Rogue! He took Lucy!"

Sting forces a smile and then gives me a friendly hug. "Thank you… Natsu… so much for being my best friend for these years of high school…"

"Wait… Sting…" I say. "What are you saying now…?" I don't know why but my body seems to sense something terrible that was just about to happen. "You sound as though you are going to go away for… forever…"

"Natsu…" Sting says. "Nothing lives forever… not even immortals. We all have a weakness and…" Sting loosens the hug and stares at me into the eye. His royal blue eyes are passionate and confident. He seems to have stopped crying. "And… I am about to reveal my greatest weakness which is also my greatest strength to you."

All the sudden, streams of light blast from random directions and like millions of rivers, they flow into Sting as if they were returning to the place they belonged. His body began to glow white and light the area. It is was bright, I could not see a thing. All I could do was cover my eyes with my hands and allow the light to seep through.

"S-Sting!" I shout. "What are you doing?"

Finally, the light dies down and the room is lite, as if suddenly someone switched on the lights... And instead of seeing Sting, I see something else.

My eyes widen.

My mouth goes agape.

"U-Uh… U-Um… Ah…" my mouth stutters in shock. Before my eyes, I see an enormous white figure glowing in the darkness. Its scales are bright and pure white. Its wings spread as wide as the endless darkness. Its presence blows me away. It is beautiful.

"A-A dragon?" I whisper.

**\- End of Chapter 16 -**

Hello! Thank you for waiting for this chapter. I apologize for the wait! I know I promised that I would post the chapter yesterday but... school has been pretty stressful lately... I truly apologize! The next chapter is in the making! Please wait and look forward to it! Thank you for reading and please review!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	17. Chapter 17: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

Panting. Crying. Screaming. That is all I hear from Rogue. He is carrying me like a sack over his right shoulder, my stomach against his bone. It hurts but I am more interested in something else. Rogue keeps mumbling something with a sad tone of voice. It took me a while to understand but he actually whispering, "I'm sorry Layla... I'm sorry..."

I can't understand why he is apologizing like this. If he is so sorry... why would he do this in the first place? Even though Rogue has done so many terrible things to my friends and me, I just can not hate him... I don't know why. I just don't. It feels like I have known him for such a long time that hating him is practically impossible for me. Then again, I wouldn't know if I knew him in the past since he was the one who stole my memories. I wonder why he did that...

Even though Rogue stole my memories, I feel like he had a reason for doing that. I have never been friends with him or anything, much less acquaintances, but my instinct just tells me he is not a criminal or a bad person in general...

Suddenly, as Rogue runs, I hear a roar in the distance. The darkness disappears with a flash of light. It is bright, so bright I can not see.

The roar I hear sounds familiar. Without my consent, my mouth rambles on its own. "Sting...?" I whispered.

Once the blinding light becomes normal, I turned my head to see something I have never seen before.

Flying towards me with Natsu on its back is a light-colored dragon with feathery, angel-like wings. Its yellow eyes are as shiny as gold. Its body is covered in glittery scales. It is beautiful but... how did it get in this empty space of void?

My eyes widen. Now that I think about it, Sting did mention that he was actually a dragon in disguise.

Wait a second... if a dragon appeared out of nowhere, there is only one answer. That dragon has to be Sting. That same expression on that face of the dragon resembles Sting's worried face. With a flap of the dragon's wings, the pressure of the wind blows me off Rogue's shoulder, sending me to the air.

I scream in fright and shut my eyes tightly. Before I can hit the ground, Sting or Weisslogia swoops below me as Natsu catches me in his arms.

I open my right eye slightly. I can see Natsu staring at me. "Thank goodness..." he says with water flooding at the bottoms of his eyes. Suddenly, without speaking, he hugs me tight. His body feels warm compared to the cold wind from Weisslogia's/Sting's wings. "You're all right... I thought I may have lost you for good..." he says in between his tears.

Slowly, I put my arms around his back. "I'm sorry for worrying you..." I say. Then I look at what I am sitting on. I can not believe that this is Sting. It doesn't look anything like him. However, the feeling I get from him is the same... It is this brotherly feeling.

"We have to defeat Rogue for the way out of here," Sting says. He begins to plummet down and roars as he blasts out a flash of light from his mouth, aiming towards Rogue.

However, Rogue's image begins to blink. Then it disappears in thin air after being hit by Sting's bright roar. It was a fake shadow he had created. Sting had not hit him at all. Suddenly, my shadow begins to blink. What in the world? My shadow begins to move on its own, shaping itself in a distorted shape. Soon, it begins to form another human body. On the head of the body, I see one red eye, shining like a flashlight. It is familiar.

It is Rogue.

Oh my god. Since when did Rogue blend in with my shadow? My eyes widen and I scream. But just when I am about to, Rogue puts his cold hand over my mouth and covers my eyes with his other hand. He pulls me away from Natsu's arms and makes me fall off Sting's rough scaly back. I can not breathe and it feels like I am suffocating.

"I will give them back to you now..." I hear Rogue whisper.

My world turns dark.

The last thing I hear is Natsu's voice.

"LUCE!" he shouts.

My mind goes blank and I can not see a thing. But for some reason, images begin to fill my head. So many, that it is impossible to count. It is innumerable. It is as if I am looking at a slideshow going at thousands of miles per hour. But for some reason, these images feel familiar. All of these people in these images feel… I don't know… familiar? I am not sure why…

Wait a second… these images are just way too familiar. Too familiar for just any picture or video.

Are there are way too many. There are more than three centuries worth of pictures. In fact, there are almost four centuries worth of these images...

I don't know how I thought of this, but it just popped in my head, like instinct.

These are my memories of my past life.

**\- End of Chapter 17 -**

I apologize for the short chapter! This is the shortest chapter I have ever written now that I think about it… But I promise the next one will be longer than usual! Just wait for it! Thank you for reading and please review!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	18. Chapter 18: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

What in the world is this?

Is this… my past?

No, it can't be. It just can't. Dad… I mean, Father wasn't like that. Father was kind… not like that king.

No, I can't believe this… but my instinct tells me that… this is true…

This is my past… my past as Layla Eucliffe.

My terrible past that my best friend had hidden from me to keep me happy... and to stay alive... to keep his promise with me.

I guess… I should explain it.

My first memory was when I was a mere four-year-old. I had royal blue eyes like Sting and the same blond hair I carry now. I was locked in a closet for who knows how long. It is was dark and I was starving, dehydrated, and crying my eyes dry. My hands were in my hair in frustration. I was a sickly child.

"WHY?" I screamed with my squeaky voice. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" I slammed my tiny fist on the locked closet door multiple times. My tears were flowing onto the ground. I coughed blood out onto the floor.

Ever since I was born, I had weak health. I also had an eating disorder, anorexia. It came from depression. Sometimes, when I was stressed, I would cough blood on the floor or vomit. Breathing was also sometimes difficult.

I vaguely remember the reason why I was locked in that closet. It was a reason related to my kingdom. It was because… I disobeyed my father's and mother's orders. I don't remember what orders, but I remember it was serious. I was just too young at the time to understand.

"Mother! Father!" I screamed out that closet. But my voice seemed to have no avail. "I'm sorry! Please! Forgive me!" But there was no answer. Not even the maids or butlers heard me. I was alone.

That is all I remember about my first memory. I can't remember how I got in or out of that closet, but that memory still haunts me, even today… even though it happened centuries ago…

My memories began to get clearer around the time I was six. This time, I was in a large room, with only my father, the king of the Eucliffe kingdom, sitting on his throne. He looked at me with his stern eyes that seemed to pierce through my head. It was frightening to the six-year-old me.

"Layla Eucliffe," Father said. "Do you understand your role as the princess of the Eucliffe kingdom?"

I bowed to my father. "Yes Your Majesty. My role is to be married off to another royal bloodline to strengthen our control over the continent once I can be publicly announced as the princess of the Eucliffe royal family."

"What else?" Father asked.

"I apologize," I responded. "I do not recall you telling me anything else."

Suddenly, Father's eyes widened with fury. His nails on his fingers were digging into the wood of his chair in anger. Just looking at him frightened me the most. His eyebrows twitched as he glared at me.

"Layla Eucliffe," he said in a strong voice as he stood up. He walked towards me with his eyes concealed by a shadow. My instinct told me to bring my arms to hide my face and avert my eyes away from him. Suddenly, I felt a hard kick on my shin.

I fell to the ground in pain as my father put his foot on the side of my waist. "I TOLD YOU THIS SO MANY TIMES YOU JERK!" He kicked me at my waist with a hard blow. "I TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE TO BE EDUCATED ABOUT THE LAND! Oh, but what do I get? A STUPID PRINCESS LIKE YOU! How am I suppose to trust you with the Eucliffe blood, huh?" He stomped on my face. "TELL ME LAYLA."

Again, I coughed out blood. Parts of my body were again bruised and my temple was bleeding. I tried to open my mouth to speak but the muscles for my jaw didn't move.

Most days were like this for me. I was always getting abused from my mother and father, the queen and king. But… it wasn't entirely their fault… It wasn't like they abused me just because they wanted to… It was because I was never their ideal child. I was the complete opposite.

First, I was female. Every family at this time wanted a son. A son would be the one who would carry the family's name and take care of his family. Females were different. We didn't carry the family name. We carried our husband's. Also, because I was a female, I couldn't take on the throne.

Second, I wasn't very educated at the time. I couldn't understand anything my private tutors taught me. I guess it is because I have lived for so long is why I am in the top ten in Fairy High. But I guess… because I was royalty, I was expected to be even more educated than the normal citizens. It was harder for me. I couldn't be like anything like my older twin brother, Sting Eucliffe.

Anyway… back to my memory as a six-year-old:

I opened my mouth to speak but my muscles couldn't move. I was too injured to move. All I could do was shut my eyes tight and cringe as my father moved his leg to prepare himself to kick me in my stomach again.

"STOP!" I heard a voice from afar yell. It was a male voice, a six-year-old high pitched voice. Slowly, I tilted my head to my left to see the familiar blond hair… It was Sting Eucliffe. "Stop it Dad!" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't be doing this!"

Father turned to look at Sting and made a bright smile at him. Seeing that smile hurt me. He never made that smile for me before… not even once. But… I don't blame him… I mean, it's hard to smile at someone who has tainted your family name… right?

"Hello Sting. Welcome back," Father said. "How are your tutoring sessions?"

"They're fine," Sting replied. "Never mind that, can you please stop doing this to Layla? She already knows what she is doing wrong!" Sting walked over to my father and gently pushed him away from my body, then stood between us.

"Please don't hurt her anymore," Sting stated in a strong voice.

Sting was always the person who saved me at these situations. He was the most precious person to me. He was the only one I could share my feelings with and trust. He was my precious twin brother who had matching royal blue eyes and golden hair with me. I loved him very much, and vice versa for him. We were close siblings.

The kingdom saw my father and mother as kind rulers. My parents were loved very much by the citizens of the country. However, the abuse they gave me was unknown to everyone. The only people who knew about this was my brother and me. If I were to ever tell their true nature to anyone, I would be executed.

My existence in my kingdom was kept a secret. Mother and Father were too ashamed to see me as their daughter. The only people who knew of me were my private tutors and Sting… until one day when I turned eleven.

That day, Sting was away from home. He was in a meeting at the kingdom next to ours, the Ice Country. Meanwhile, I was at the castle with my mother who was not very happy with me at the time. I had failed a test of the geography of my kingdom. And… again I was being beaten.

"Stupid jerk!" Mother yelled as she slapped me across the face. She kicked my leg and caused me to fall backwards. She kicked me across my waist several times as she cursed at me. "Why did I have to get a stupid daughter like you?" she yelled at my face. "Why aren't you like Sting? Are we even blood related at all?"

After beating me several times, she gave me a final kick in the face and said, "Go die." Then she walked away and left me on the floor crying. My tears wouldn't stop flowing. I wasn't even sure why I was crying. Was it because of the pain from the beating? Was it from the words she said? Or was it because I was so weak?

Slowly, I stood up and made my way outside. My feet could barely hold me up. I opened the door and lost balance, making me fall to the dirty ground. Suddenly, my world began to turn dizzy and I coughed out blood again. I looked at my hand to see blood oozing out of it. I was bleeding around the other parts of my body also.

"Hey! You!" I heard a voice from afar. I tried to move my head to see if I could find the owner of the voice but I was in too much pain. I couldn't move at all.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" the voice shouted again.

Slowly, I looked up at the brick wall next to me to see a boy with raven black hair sitting on the top, trespassing. My eyes widened. How did he get to the castle walls? Wasn't there tight security around them? Even the highest rank of security guards could never find this place. How could a normal commoner like this boy find it? But those were the least of my concerns...

Then I began to panic even more.

He saw me.

Oh no.

No one was supposed to know that I existed.

But he found out.

I tried to crawl out of his sight but it didn't help. He already saw me. There was no running away.

He jumped down from the wall and ran to my side. He put my right arm around his shoulders and tried to help me up. But I was too weak. My legs felt like they were broken. I couldn't move them… I had too many bruises. I couldn't even stand even with his support.

"What happened?" he asked frantically. His eyes showed worry. "And who are you? What are you doing within the castle walls?"

Who is he? I wondered. But whoever he was, I had to get out of his sight. Or else the kingdom would have him executed for finding out about me.

"Get away from me…" I panted. "If you value your life… leave me alone and pretend you never saw me…"

"No way," he flat out replied. He dropped me back on the floor and put his arms around my legs. Then he lifted me up. I wondered if I was heavy. I had never been carried before. I always thought of being carried bridal style as something only in fairy tales, not real life.

He carried me to a bench in the garden we were in. Then he laid me down. "What happened?" he asked in concern. "And… Who are you? A prisoner of the castle?"

I coughed out blood and wiped my mouth. My eyelids seemed to be getting heavier. "I-I guess… you can call me… a prisoner… somewhat…"

"What do you mean… _somewhat_? Are you a prisoner or what?" the ravened hair boy asked me. But before I could reply, my world turned dark as my eyelids began to close. The world seemed to be spinning around and around. Soon, everything was pitch black.

**OoO**

A warm bed… soft covers… It had been a while since I felt this… I opened my eyes to see a boy with raven hair again, cooking some kind of stew. I sniffed the air. It smelled nice… But… who was that boy again?

Oh yeah… I remember. He was that guy who crept into the castle and found me on the floor injured.

I tried to get up but my arms seemed to be too weak to do so. I wondered what time it was. Where was I?

"Hey! You're awake!" I heard a voice. It was that boy's voice.

He ran over to me and helped me up. I looked into his eyes and noticed that they were bright ruby red. They seemed to be so beautiful… I sat up and looked around the small home I was in. Where was I? This was definitely not the castle. Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I had ever been out of the castle.

"Hey…" the boy said. He brought a chair over and held my hand in concern. "It's okay to talk to me… I won't hurt you…"

My eyes widened. Other than Sting, this boy was the only one who showed kindness to me. I was never used to that so I didn't know how to respond. I opened my mouth to speak but I was too scared.

"I'm Rogue Cheney," the boy said. "I live alone here… What's your name?"

I wasn't sure if I could trust this boy with my name. The only people who knew my name were my parents and my twin brother, Sting. No one else knew. But for some reason, something told me to tell him. I didn't know why… I just… trusted him… I guess.

"My name is… Layla Eucliffe," I replied with a scared tone of voice. Tears began to flow out of my eyes. "I-I-I'm so sorry to have bothered you!" I cried. "Please don't hurt me!" I put my hands over my face to hide myself. "I swear I'll get out of your sight!"

Rogue grabbed my hands with his right hand and forced me to look at him. "No way…" he said. "Only those who are royal are allowed to have _Eucliffe _as a last name… But… I've never heard of you… Moreover, if you were really royal, then you wouldn't be beaten up like this."

My heart pounded in fear. "I-I don't know! Please forget that you ever saw me!"

"Wait, stop saying that!" Rogue shouted. "Why do you keep telling me to forget that I ever saw you? I can't just leave someone on the ground injured! Also… something tells me that you are royal… Your clothes are in the highest quality… even though they are covered in your blood at the moment…"

"I… um…" I pulled my hands out of his hands and put it on my arms. Then I noticed that I was bandaged. Did this boy take care of me? I wondered. My body was all clean of blood besides my dress and my wounds seemed to be disinfected. Rogue… maybe I could trust him after all…

But… if he found out who I truly was… would he kick me out? He could be executed just for finding out about me… But… I couldn't stop myself from telling him the truth… I guess it was because I was just so excited to be able to meet… a new person.

"I am actually… the princess of the Eucliffe kingdom…" I said slowly. I looked into his eyes. His red ruby eyes were wide open in surprise… or maybe even disgust. "I know that this is hard to believe but… my identity is kept secret, which is why you never heard of me in your life." I stared down at the ground. I began to get too scared to even look into Rogue's eyes. "I… I was only known to very few people of this world… Sting… the king… the queen… and tutors who occasionally came to tutor me… but those tutors didn't know I was a princess… they just taught me because they were commanded to by the king and queen."

"Wait!" Rogue said. "Sting, the king, and the queen?! You mean… the prince of the Eucliffe kingdom, Sting Eucliffe?!"

"Yeah…" I replied softly. "H-He is my twin brother…"

Rogue looked at my eyes and stared at them for a very long time. And then he nodded as if he understood. "I thought your eyes were just normal blue for a moment but now I see..." he stated. "Your eyes are royal blue. Only the royals have that eye color. But…" He made a confused face. "I still don't understand… Why would they keep their only daughter as a secret to this world? And why would they allow their only daughter to be beaten up like that?"

I told Rogue my first memory and my experiences as a hidden princess this whole time. I wasn't sure if he was listening, but he seemed to understand. "And… my parents were too ashamed to call me their daughter…" I explained. "So that's why they hid me from the world…" I wondered what my parents were going to think when they found out that I was not at the castle. Would they be mad… or happy?

"I'm sorry…" Rogue replied. "I shouldn't have been so insensitive to ask you…" He held onto my hand tight. "I-If you don't have friends, I… I um…" His face seemed to turn bright red as he stared into the ground. "I'd be happy to be… your friend… in secret of course…"

I made a small smile. Suddenly, Rogue lite up. His eyes widened and he laughed. "W-What?" I asked. "Why are you laughing?"

Rogue tried to calm down his laughter. "Well… this is the first time I've ever seen you smile!" he exclaimed. "You look quite cute!"

My face turned into a mad blush. I covered my bashful look with my arm and averted my eyes from his. "Are you sure though…?" I asked. "You aren't afraid of being executed if they find out that you know about me?"

"Of course I'm afraid of being executed!" Rogue replied with a serious face. But then his face turned into a bright smile. "But I want to become your friend! So all we have to do is not get found out right?"

My eyes widened. Rogue was so kind to me. He was the only person on the outside world I met and the first person I ever became friends with. He was my… first love… At this time, I was in love with Rogue Cheney… who eventually became my best friend.

**OoO**

Sixteen years old. Five years after I met Rogue Cheney. We were the bestest of friends. Every once and a while, he would creep over the castle walls to meet me. Then, we would play, everyday. Because the kingdom didn't know about me, it was quite easy to sneak out of the castle to meet Rogue also. None of the security guards recognized me after all.

But… sixteen… was also the year everything changed for the worse. It was the year… Rogue was caught.

I was at the castle's hidden courtyard with Rogue. We were just sitting on the grass, hanging out. It was my birthday. We were laughing, playing… just doing the normal things we did. But for some reason, every since Rogue turned seventeen (he was two years older than me), he seemed to stop aging… I didn't know how. I never questioned it though, I believed it was just my imagination. Then… somehow… I just decided to confess to him that day. I don't know what I was thinking. I just did it.

"Listen Rogue…" I said. I held my hand against his and looked into his ruby red eyes. "I really… um…" My heart began to pound faster. I was scared but I had to say it. I just had the feeling that after this… we wouldn't be seeing each other for a long time… I didn't know why… It was just a gut feeling.

"What is it?" Rogue asked with his kind eyes. He smiled at me and ruffled my hair until it got messy.

"Hey!" I exclaimed with laughter. "Stop that! It tickles!" I laughed some more until he stopped. "Hey! I'm trying to say something here!"

He stopped rubbing my head and made a chuckle. "Psh… Sorry! Couldn't help it! The face you made was just too adorable!" he replied.

My face again turned into a dark crimson color. I calmed my heart down and stared into his eyes. "Rogue… Um… Listen… Um… I… er…"

"Yes?" he asked. He made a smile for me which just made it even harder to confess.

"I… I love you…" I said in a quiet voice. But I could tell that he could hear me from his reaction. His ears turned bright red. It was kind of cute actually. His ears always turned red whenever he was embarrassed.

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, suddenly there was a loud cry from the distance.

"INTRUDER!" I heard a familiar feminine voice cry. "GET HIM GUARDS!"

Before I knew it, I was pushed away from Rogue as he was being carried away by the guards. My shoulder stung with pain as I fell on the concrete path. Quickly, I stood back up and attempted to run towards the guards with Rogue in their hands.

"ROGUE!" I cried. "NO! ROGUE!"

"LAYLA!" Rogue cried before they wrapped a gag over his mouth and stopped him from speaking. "Mmph! Mm!" he tried to speak. But there was no avail. I couldn't understand a word he said.

I turned around to see my Mother behind me with an angry look on her face. "What did I say about staying hidden?! YOU IDIOT!" she screamed as she pulled my hair and slapped me several times across the face. She used her finger and jabbed me in the forehead several times. Her nails dug into my skin, causing me to bleed. "I TOLD you NOT to have ANY contact with ANYONE in the outside world!"

I could see Rogue with the corner of my eye with a worried look in his face. He seemed to be trying to call out my name but he couldn't. The guards tied his hands around his back and forced him into the dungeon.

This was all my fault. I still blame myself for it… even today. Even though I got a heavy beating from my parents, I knew Rogue was suffering worse with the security guards. He was going to be executed… I just knew it… and… it was all because of me.

That night, I creeped into the castle dungeon to look for Rogue. It stunk of blood and odor there. I wanted to throw up, but I had to find Rogue. Everywhere, I could see criminals growling at me through the prison bars. It was frightening, but I ignored them. I was more worried about Rogue.

After a few minutes, my eyes landed on the familiar ruby red eyes. I almost cried when I saw them. "R-Rogue…" I coughed out.

Slowly, his eyes looked at me. A gag was still on his mouth and bruises and wounds were all over his body. I could see future scars already beginning to form down his back. I tried not to cry when I saw this, but I did anyway. I just couldn't take it. Why did I always have to cause misery to everyone I approached?

I dropped to the dirty floor, right next to the bars of the prison he was in that separated us. I grasp onto the dirty bars and cried my eyes out. I pulled out the gag from his mouth and cried. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Rogue… I'm so sorry…" I made him turn around and I helped him untie the rope around his hands.

Suddenly, I felt something warm touch my head and pet me softly. "Layla…" he said. "Are…" He touched my cheek and wiped away the tears from my right eye. "Are you alright?" he asked.

I began to cry even harder. Why in the world was he worrying about me so much when he was going to be executed by dawn tomorrow? He should have been more worried about himself. Not me. "Why?" I blurted out the word by accident.

"What is it?" he asked. He ruffled my hair again, just like he always did. "Layla… listen… don't worry about me…" he said.

"How can I not worry about you?!" I cried. "You're going to die Rogue! You're… You're going to disappear from this world!"

"LAYLA!" Rogue shouted. "Listen to me… please… I… I promise I won't die. I'll never leave you. I won't die. I'll survive."

"How is that possible?" I asked. "They're going to behead you! It's impossible for a human to survive that…" I began to cry even harder as I thought about it. "No… No… don't die! Don't leave me Rogue! You… You're my only friend… my best friend…"

"Layla…" Rogue said. "I promise… I won't die… no matter what."

Suddenly, a security guard pushed me away from the prison, surprising me, causing me to scream in fright. I rolled on the ground from the impact, dirtying my dress a little.

"LAYLA!" Rogue cried.

The guard opened the prison and grabbed Rogue. As if he was a sack, the guard put Rogue over his shoulder and ran out of the dungeon.

"ROGUE!" I screamed. I tried to chase after the guard as fast as I could. My dress made it harder though. But by the time I got there, I could see Rogue before my father and mother, the rulers of the kingdom. His head was forced onto the cold floor by one guard and another guard was holding a large heavy sword with two hands right above his head.

"NO!" I screamed out with the top of my lungs. "PLEASE NO!"

"Execute him," my father simply stated.

And then, the guard lifted his sword even higher. Rogue's beautiful red eyes turned to me. Even though his last words to me were very quiet, I could still hear them. And I can still remember them to this very day.

"I love you too," he said right before the guard lowered the heavy sword with a fast motion.

And right in front of my eyes, my best friend was executed.

The one who I loved so deeply. The first person from the outside world that I ever met. The one who showed me the most kindness.

He died that day when I turned sixteen. And everything was never the same ever again.

From then on, everything turned downfall.

**End of Chapter 18 -**

Hey! Thanks for waiting for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Part two of Lucy's memories will be coming up soon! Hope you all stayed tuned for it! Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

_**~ Metallic Snow**_


	19. Chapter 19: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

Cut. Slash. Sound of meat being ripped apart.

He's gone.

Dead.

Slowly, I took a step back. Then another. Turned. And ran.

I couldn't even cry. Tears just wouldn't come out. What kind of terrible person was I? This person just got killed because of me. My best friend just got executed… Rogue.

I just kept running and running. I didn't know where I was going, and before I knew it, I was at the garden, where I first met Rogue. It was quiet and empty. It looked exactly as it did before back when I saw Rogue standing on the top of the castle walls. I kneeled at the spot I fell where he first spotted me. I bent my back and slammed my forehead to the ground filled with dirt.

_**"Hey! You!"**_ I remembered him saying._** "Hey! Are you okay?!"**_

He was gone now. My best friend. The person I loved the most. My everything. He was gone. Dead. All because of me. If he never saw me in that garden, if I never decided to get some fresh air at that time… Rogue would still be here. Maybe I would have never met him, but he would have been safe.

He was dead. But I still couldn't cry.

What was wrong with me?

Suddenly, I felt a hand gently hold me on the shoulder. It was Sting Eucliffe, my twin brother. "Oh… Sting…" I said in a quiet voice. "Did… Did you see that?"

Suddenly, Sting pulled me in for a hug and pet my head, stroking it as if I were a puppy. "Rogue right? Your best friend?" he asked. "I always watched you hang out with him… I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I knew all about you two secretly meeting each other."

"Yeah…" I replied. "I just... don't know anymore…" I pounded my fist on my brother's chest multiple times in frustration. My eyes pained to have tears flow down from them, yet the tears wouldn't burst out. They remained in my eyes. "HOW AM I NOT CRYING?" I scream. "WHY? IT'S… It's… all my fault… that Rogue isn't here anymore… yet… the tears won't come…"

"Layla…"

"WHY WON'T THEY COME?" I screamed again. I was just so heartless. All I could think was that I was lucky it wasn't me being executed. That was all I could think of.

How cruel of me.

How terrible.

How wicked.

After that, I just sat in my brother's arms. I didn't cry. I just sat there, put my chin over his shoulder, and listened to the birds chip around me. We just remained like that for hours without saying a word. And even after that long, the tears didn't come.

Rogue died on the day after my birthday.

The next day was normal… except Rogue was gone. Then the next day passed. And the next. And the next. Then months. And I still didn't cry. I stopped crying after that incident. Even when my parents swore and abused me, I didn't cry. It hurt, but tears filled with pain wouldn't come out of my royal blue eyes. Soon, it was the day before my birthday, two days before Rogue passed away. A year passed.

**OoO**

"WHAT THE HELL LAYLA!" the queen, my mother, shouted. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! It's simple, just get into that dress my maids prepared for you and go to the meeting! We are FINALLY making your existence reality. And now you're backing out?!"

I looked back at her with a blank look, emotionless. Mother was trying to make me attend an arranged marriage meeting. Her thoughts of revealing my existence was impure. All she wanted was money, power, and land. I didn't care about that at all.

"I don't want to go," I replied to her in a stoic tone of voice.

"_What_ was that?" Mother asked as her eyebrows began to curve together in anger.

"I don't want to go," I repeated. Then I turned and faced my back at her and walked away. Ten seconds later, I felt a heel slam itself on my back. I coughed from the shock of the impact and fell on the hard granite floor.

"You have no authority to do what you want Layla," Mother said. Her eyes glared at me with fury. She put her heel on my cheek and pushed it on my face. It hurt especially because she was wearing high heels. "You are going to the meeting even if you don't want to, understand?"

I didn't reply. I just stared at the ground with emotionless eyes to show her I could care less. I couldn't reply anyway since her foot was practically on my mouth.

"I said…" Mother lifted her foot from my face and then kicked me hard in the stomach several times as she yelled, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND, LAYLA EUCLIFFE?!"

I coughed blood over and over again, every single time she kicked me. I wanted to vomit so bad. I knew she wasn't going to stop until I agreed so eventually, I said, "Yes, I understand Your Highness."

Then she smirked, gave me a hard nudge with her heel on my face, and walked away. I remained on that granite floor, coughing blood. I was so dizzy from the huge loss of blood and wanted to vomit. Slowly, I touched my stomach with my right hand and then looked at it. Bloody. How disgusting. And still, I wasn't crying.

This ground I was laying on was the same ground Rogue died on. Rogue… I missed him so much. I still couldn't believe he was gone. Even though a year had passed, I didn't cry. I touched the granite floor with my bruised bloody hands and allowed my hand to slide across it. It felt so smooth and cold. The coldness of the floor seemed to refresh me and my thoughts of frustration seemed to fly away. Suddenly, I felt a crack in the granite…

Oh yeah… this was where the heavy sword hit the floor when Rogue was executed… which meant… I was laying on the exact spot Rogue had passed away. The thought made me nauseous. Slowly, I sat up and vomited.

"Layla!" I heard a cry from a distance. "Are you alright?"

That voice… Sting? The footsteps got louder and louder as he approached me. "Oh god… Did you throw up?" he asked. I leaned my weight on him as he came by my side. "I'm so sorry… If only I came sooner…"

I touched the crack on the floor again and thought of the day I saw Rogue's head being cut off three hundred sixty three days ago. I vomited again.

"Layla… come on, we are going to get out of here… Staying here will just remind you of bad memories…" Sting said. He knew why I was throwing up. Whenever I was near the area Rogue passed away, I was always like this.

"Sting…" I said. "I can't stay here anymore… I just can't be in the same place Rogue passed away anymore…" I made a pained expression as if I were going to cry but tears still didn't come out.

"Layla…" Sting said. He took out his handkerchief and wiped my mouth with it, after all, I just coughed out blood and vomited two times. "There's… something I need to tell you. To be honest... I really should have told you this earlier, but we have to talk in private. Let's go to my room?"

I didn't want to talk anymore so I just nodded. Sting put me on his back and carried me up into his room. He set me on the couch and sat on the chair across from it. He stared at the ground with a pained expression and sighed.

"Listen… I didn't mean to keep it from you but…" He looked at me straight with his royal blue eyes and then held onto my hands tightly. "But… Rogue is still alive."

_What… did he just say?_ I thought. That was impossible. I saw the execution myself. I witnessed his head coming off of his body and his blood being squirted everywhere afterwards. I witnessed it all.

"Don't lie to me…" I said to him. "I saw him die. You witnessed it too. You didn't even know Rogue anyway-"

"I did."

"...What?"

"I knew Rogue… even longer than you did," Sting said. "I knew him ever since we were five. He was seven… You know how you first saw him on top of the castle walls five years ago in the back garden?"

"Y-Yeah," I replied.

"That was where we usually met in secret, but I forgot to tell him I had a meeting in the Ice Country, so he saw you instead…" Sting explained. "And… he knew who you were… probably… I told him about how I had a sister whose existence was kept secret… He didn't know what you looked like, but from seeing your condition, he probably knew."

I just stared at him with a blank look. "Wait…" I said. "How does this explain that he is still alive today?" I just couldn't understand. Why did Rogue and Sting keep their knowing of each other a secret to me? How was Rogue still alive?

"You may not believe me but…" Sting took a deep breath and stared into my royal blue eyes. He gripped my hands tighter. "Rogue is immortal."

I stared at him. "That's impossible. There's no such thing. We all grew up together. I watched him grow as well-"

"Layla. Don't you remember?" Sting asked. "When Rogue turned seventeen, he just _seemed_ to stop growing somehow. Didn't you think it was strange at all?"

I knew what he was talking about. I always thought about it since I was fifteen. He seemed to not get taller and his face was free of the teenagers' nightmare, acne. It was as if his face was frozen in time. But I didn't want to believe it. I just didn't. It would destroy my way of thinking.

"No… NO!" I screamed. "That's impossible. There's no way-"

"IT"S TRUE LAYLA," Sting yelled. My eyes widened. Sting almost never yelled at people. He was usually so calm. "Rogue is… part of that legend… the dragon slayer legend…"

"W-What…?" I said. "That can't be true… Dragon slayers are extinct!" I shout. "There… There's just no way…"

The legend he was referring to was the male dragon and princess of a kingdom who fell in love with each other. They secretly had a child who was half dragon and half human, thus starting the dragon tribe nicknamed the dragon slayers. They were rumored to have powers, so strong they could even kill dragons.

But dragons were extinct too.

"Rogue is a shadow dragon slayer," Sting explained. "He can control the shadows however he wants. And when he was seventeen, he got cursed by a woman who made him immortal… We still don't know why… he never told me after all… But he is immortal now."

"So… he's still alive…" I said. I stared at my skirt. Suddenly, a wet drop fell on the cloth. It spread across the cloth. And then more drops began to fall on the cloth, as if it were raining. But the drops were warm. I put my hand over my right eye. It was wet. Then I realized it… I was crying.

"Argh…" I cried. I put my hands on top of both eyes in embarrassment. I had not cried in almost a year, and now, I was crying. I screamed and cried. They weren't tears filled with sadness however. They were filled with joy, thankfulness for Rogue being still alive.

But that was before I found out the curse of immortality and how sad it truly was.

"Sting… I've been thinking about this for a while…" I said.

"Thinking about what?" Sting asked.

"Running away," I replied. "I'm going to run away from the castle. I can't stay here anymore Sting! I just… don't belong here."

"But Layla!" Sting exclaimed. "You lived here all your life! How are you going to survive out there? What if someone sees your royal blue eyes and finds out you are royalty? It's not safe out there!"

"From a far distance, royal blue eyes don't look any different from regular blue eyes," I replied. "I'll be fine. I can go on my own-"

"I'm coming with you," Sting interrupted. "I won't let you go alone."

Wait... _no_. Sting couldn't go. He was about to take the throne when he turned eighteen next year. I couldn't allow him to come with me. The prince escaping from the castle one year before gaining the throne would cause a ruckus. It would cause chaos in the whole country and maybe even the countries next to it.

"No Sting," I said. "You can't go. You have a lot of responsibilities in the castle. They need you here…"

"I need you here," Sting interrupted. His eyes showed me he was serious. "I'm your brother Layla. Wherever you go, I'll come with you. Without you…" He bowed his head and made a fist above his head. "I don't know what I'd do without you…"

Seeing his pained expression, I couldn't say no to his request to come with me. To be honest, I didn't know what I'd do without Sting either. "Okay…" I said. To be honest, I wanted Sting to come with me. I didn't care if the whole world was going to collapse thanks to my selfishness. I just didn't care. I needed Sting more than the world needed him. That... was just how selfish I was. "Let's go together… I'm planning to leave today at ten thirty… fine with you?"

"Anytime is okay," Sting replied.

**OoO**

It was ten fifteen. Sting and I were in his room. "We have to bring as little items as possible," I told him. "We can't carry much if we want to jump over the walls."

Sting nodded and took a small knapsack. He took out a necklace out of his drawer and put it around his neck. It was silver with a circular pendant. It was most likely a locket since it was quite thick.

"What's that?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled. "A necklace with an important person inside."

"What?" I asked him with a questioned look. I didn't understand what he meant by that. "Anyway, you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Sting replied. "Just give me a second." He went inside his closet and rummaged around for a while. Finally, he took out a small chest. It looked extremely old and rusty. It was also very dusty. I sneezed when he took it out, like I said, I had very poor health.

He took out a small key and opened the chest. My eyes widened when I saw what was in it. There was a small cylinder object and twelve golden keys with odd symbols on top of each one. The keys looked so odd. I had never seen any keys with such odd shapes at the end. They didn't look like they could open any doors. And the cylinder object looked odd too. There was a switch on it, but it didn't look like anything, just a brown cylinder with golden edges.

"Do you know what magic is, Layla?" Sting asked me.

"Like dragon slayers?" I asked.

"Kind of," Sting said. "But there are many types of magic in the world. Not many people know about it but it's true. But… there is only one person who can control this type of magic… and I think, that's you."

"Wh-What?" I asked. My eyes widened. I always read stories as a kid about magic but I never thought I could do anything like that. Things like that seemed impossible. "No way Sting!" I exclaimed. "You must be messing me up with someone else!"

"I'm not," Sting said. "I'm sure if it's you, you can use these keys. And one day, you should be able to use star magic as well."

"W-What are you talking about Sting?" I asked. "What's star magic? Magic doesn't run down our family!"

"The only magic that runs down family lines is dragon slayer magic," Sting replied. "Magic is something you are born with, not something you choose." He took out the keys and handed them to me, holding my hands as he did so. "You can use magic Layla. I know it. I can't, so that's why I'm going to use this." He took out the odd cylinder like object and showed it to me.

He flicked the switch and suddenly, a long blue light came out of it with stars wrapped around the light. I noticed that the blue light was not a light. It was water, but solid. "This is called _Fle__uve d'__étoiles_. It means river of stars. It's an extendable whip that was passed on in our family. It's from the Celestial Spirit World. Our grandmother gave this to me…"

Grandmother… I thought. She passed away back when I was six years old and she never knew of my existence. But... I always watched her from afar. I loved her... even though she didn't know me. She was the one I got my name from... Layla. I always wanted to run up to her and meet her but... Mother and Father made it forbidden for me to let Grandmother know of my existence... so I never got to meet my grandmother.

"Wait Sting," I interrupted his speech. "Can I hold that dagger for a bit?"

Sting looked at me with a questionable look but shrugged and handed it to me. "What for?" he asked.

I gripped onto the dagger with my right hand, wrapped my long hair on my left hand, and held the dagger close to my long blond hair that reached my ankles. I guess I never described it but in my country, if one was royalty and a female, she had to grow her hair up to her ankles at least. I slashed the dagger and instantly, all of my hair fell on the ground in a pile.

"Layla!" Sting cried. "You shouldn't have done that! You could've just tied your hair in a bun! There's no need to cut it!"

I looked at my hair. It now ended at the center of my neck. "If I kept my hair long, it would have reminded me of the castle..." I said as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. For the first time, when I looked at the mirror, I didn't deny my identity. With that short hair and look on my face, I knew who I was: Layla Eucliffe.

After explaining the weapons, Sting also had me change into male clothing, after all, it was hard to move in a dress. That was actually the first time I had ever worn pants. It felt very odd at the time, but I got used to it. I attached the twelve keys to my belt and stared at them. They were quite odd…

We dressed in dark brown robes over our clothing and checked the floors for security guards. Then, we ran over to the secret garden and climbed over the cold walls that always locked us within the castle, the walls we could never escape.

As I climbed the walls, I panted. I was never a very athletic person. My fingers grew numb as I gripped the cracks in the walls. But even though I was in so much pain, I felt free. I felt like I could do anything. I could see Sting above me, climbing also. He was strong, no wonder why so many females in our country desired him so much.

I wondered what it would be like if the citizens knew of my existence. I thought of those times I wondered what it was like outside the walls until Rogue, my best friend, led me out of the castle in secret.

"Layla!" Sting shouted, surprising me. I looked up to see him standing with his hand extended towards me. "Come on, you have to see this!"

I extended my arm to him as he grabbed it and helped me up to the top of the wall. The wall was thick, just enough for a person to stand on. I crawled on the top of the wall and stood up. My eyes widened. The night view was beautiful.

I could see the candles from the inside of the houses light up and the stars glitter in the sky. The moon was pure white in the middle of the dark sky. It was beautiful, but Sting and I could not enjoy the view for long. We had to keep running until we could guarantee safety.

Sting tied a rope on one of the castle's flag poles and allowed the rest to fall down to the ground. "I'll go first," he said. "Just in case you fall, I can catch you. Also the rope is a little flimsy, so I'll tie it to the bottom when I get to the ground first."

He slid down the rope, jumping whenever his feet touched the walls. It took a while, but slowly, he slid down and tied the rope. Then he gave me the signal that it was okay for me to go too.

I looked down the wall. It was so high, I can not even remember how tall the wall was. I was a bit scared but I mustered up my courage, grabbed the rope, and allowed myself to fall down the wall.

As I slid down the rope, my hands burned from the friction. I slowly walked down the wall sideways as my arms held my weight by grasping the rope for my life. I wanted to cry from all this pain, but I couldn't. I was tempted to let go of the rope, but if I did, I would obviously die.

It took a while, but finally I was back on the hard ground. I was so thankful to be able to survive such a thing. But as much as I wanted to sit and rest, we had to keep moving. Sting suggested taking his horse, Passion, with us. Don't ask me why he named his horse that. He always told me it was because the horse seemed to have a lot of passion. And I have no idea what that means.

We slowly creeped into the horse shed and let Passion out. I actually have never seen his horse until now. It had shiny black fur, a white mane and tail, and dark blue eyes. In my opinion, this horse should have been named Midnight since it looked so much like the night; however, this wasn't my horse.

Sting helped me up his horse and then climbed behind me. He allowed me to sit in the front. Then, he took some of the horse's food, put it in the sack, and put it on the horse's back. Then, he kicked the horse, and we were off.

"Sting…" I said as we rode the horse, Passion. "I still don't understand… why would you want to escape with me… I'm the least person people want to be with… I'm a curse-"

"You're my sister, of course I would come with you," Sting interrupted. "I can't just let you go alone… Anyway… you're running so you can find Rogue right?"

My eyes widened. How did he know? I didn't even say anything about it, but then again, Sting always knew what I was thinking with one look.

"I know you too well Layla," Sting said with a sigh. He made a quick laugh and then went back to riding. I felt the wind go through my cloak. It was cold yet I felt so free. No longer was I tied by the chains of the fate the royals laid out for me. I could choose my own future now.

I think Sting knew, but for some reason, tears began to flow from my eyes again. I don't remember why I was crying. Perhaps it was because Sting agreed to come with me... Or maybe it was because I was leaving my home. Even though the castle held my worst memories, I still missed it anyway... I wonder why...

My eyes drooped as we rode, and soon, I fell asleep.

**OoO**

"Layla! Wake up! It's morning now!" I heard a familiar male voice say over and over again. I opened one of my eyes to see Sting.

"Sting…?" I asked. I looked around us to see that we were in a cave, the horse eating its meal. "Where… are we?" Sting had the odd cylinder object, _Fle__uve d'__étoiles_, in his hands. The water was swirling out of it with a rabbit on the other end, dead. He must have been hunting while I was asleep.

"We're out of the country Layla," Sting replied. "I brought us to Ice Country. It's the closest country to ours. Also, I have a friend there that is willing to supply us with supplies."

"Oh…" I replied.

"Oh yeah," Sting said. "Happy birthday Layla!"

Birthday? I thought. Oh yeah… Today was my birthday… One year ago, I had confessed to Rogue and told him that I loved him. And the next day, Rogue was executed and before he was executed, he told me he loved me.

"Happy birthday to you too Sting," I said with a soft smile. We were twins so of course we would have the same birthday. I was the younger one though.

Suddenly, Sting's eyes widened, as if I did something strange. Then he hugged me tight. I noticed that he was crying for some reason. "S-Sting?" I asked.

"Oh god..." he cried. "Thank god... for the past year I thought I would never see you smile again..." His tears soaked into the brown cloak I wore. I could feel his muscles tighten as he hugged me. I had no idea my brother was that concerned...

I held his back with one arm and ended up crying also, from guilt and from happiness. Guilt because I made him so concerned, and happiness because someone would cry... just for someone like me. It made me feel so happy and needed. As if there was a reason for my existence in this world.

"Happy seventeenth, Sting..." I said as I buried my tears into his cloak. "I love you."

**OoO**

It had been three months since we ran from the castle. Sting had received some news from a friend saying that there were guards searching all over for him. Of course they weren't searching for me. My parents never really cared about me... They only used me, that's all... No one knew of my existence anyway.

We were riding on Passion, his horse, when we noticed this out of placed lady, with a man by her side. The man wore a pure black coat that reached past his ankles. It looked almost too big for him. I noticed that he also wore odd silver piercings and had... familiar red eyes.

Red eyes... I thought. Why did that feel so... familiar?

"I was waiting for you," the woman said. She looked my age, seventeen, and had the prettiest emerald green eyes.

"Who... are you?" Sting asked. He jumped off Passion and I followed him. He narrowed his eyes and put his arm up in front of me to block me from walking away from him, protecting me. He grabbed _Fle__uve d'__étoiles_ and flipped the switch on. Solid water splashed out of the cylinder, turning it into a whip. "Are you part of the royal force?" he questioned.

"No," the woman smirked. Her terrifying emerald eyes narrowed as she glared at us. "I'm worse than them. You remember my name before you become my slaves," she announced. She pointed to the man clothed in black. "Like him!" she cried in laughter as she flipped the man's hood off.

That raven black hair... those ruby red eyes. My eyes teared up as the person was revealed. Those piercings. That way he stood tall. It was him. It was… _him_. He was still alive.

"R-Rogue...?" I whispered. I attempted to walk towards him but Sting pulled me back with a jerk of his hand.

"Don't go there, Layla," he said with a serious look on his face. He held my wrist tightly as he glared at Rogue. "He changed..."

"C-Changed...?" I asked. I looked at Rogue to see his sad expression on his face for a second. He looked up and we made eye contact... just for a second. The look on his ruby red eyes screamed out the words, "I'm sorry." Then his expression changed to an evil look. His eyes narrowed at us and his hands turned black with magic.

"I am Minerva," the woman said. "I am the witch who curses with immortality." Minerva pointed to Rogue. "And he agreed to work with me, with a price and consequence of course," she said. "He's mine now."

What the hell... I thought. How could this happen...? So the woman who cursed Rogue was her... But... why was Rogue working for her... That always remained a mystery to me.

"Why Rogue..." I whispered. "I... I thought... I thought you and I were-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Rogue disappeared into his shadow. Where did he go? I looked around vigorously, looking for him in fear. Suddenly, Sting quickly stepped back from me and whipped _Fleuve d'étoiles_, hitting something behind me.

I flipped my head around to see that it was Rogue. "Argh!" he cried after being hit. He fell to the floor and absorbed into his shadow again. Where did he go? Sting and I flipped out heads to the right and left. We couldn't find him at all. Suddenly, from somewhere, I heard someone mutter, "Shadow Dragon's Slash…" Then a sudden cough of blood from Sting.

"Sting!" I screamed. I ran over to Sting and held him up with my arms. I looked over at Rogue to see his arm covered in shadows. What was with him? How could he change this much over a year…?

I looked at Sting. He didn't use any magic, so a normal human being like him would be easily killed in magic combat. He was defenseless. I could I let Sting get hit… I was stupid. I listened to him pant heavily as I kept yelling, "Sting! Sting!" Slowly, I let go of Sting and allow him to lay on the ground, unconscious.

Then I stood up. Looked at the ground and took a deep breath. Then I looked up and glared at Rogue. How could he do this to Sting? I thought they were best friends since they were five. I couldn't forgive anyone for hurting Rogue, even if he was the person I loved.

I grasped onto all of the twelve golden keys as my heart beated in fear. I was scared. I never used magic in my life. But… if Sting believed I could, then I thought I could. It seemed impossible… but… I had to. So I could protect the most important person to me, who was no longer Rogue… It was my brother Sting, the one who protected me ever since we left our mother's womb.

I ripped off one of the keys from the Sting and held it up. I didn't know what I was doing at all. I was just guessing the way through. I looked at the strange orange symbol on the key. It looked like a circle with a tail around it. If I remembered correctly, Sting told me that this was the symbol of the king of the zodiac, Leo the lion. I looked back up at Rogue, and then, back at my key. I had to do this… but inside… I truly… still… didn't want to hurt Rogue… even though he hurt Sting like that… What a stupid thought… right?

"Uhm…Gate of the Lion!" I shouted as I raised my arm up and quickly hit it down to the floor. A yellow circle appeared below me as light shattered around me. I could feel magic gushing out of my body. "I open thee!" I screamed. "Leo!"

Instantly, I heard a ring of a door, as if someone rang a bell and wind was gushing through the area. I closed my eyes in fright.

"What the hell?" I heard Minerva say from a distance. I opened one of my eyes, to see Rogue looking at me with a soft smile… Why? But the wind blinded me almost instantly after I saw him.

The wind stopped a couple seconds later. "You called, Mistress?" a voice I didn't recognize said. Slowly, I opened one of my eyes to see a man with gelled up orange hair stand before me. His eyes were perfectly shaped and his teeth were sharp on the sides of his teeth. Then, I noticed that his hair was perfectly shaped like a lion's ears. He definitely resembled a lion.

"Leo…?" I asked with a hesitant voice.

"That's my name," Leo said with a smirk. "What would you like me to do, Mistress?"

"Get her Rogue!" Minerva screamed as if she were screaming for her life. "Hurry!"

"Ah," Leo said. "I see… You need me to protect you?" I noticed a silver ring with a blue gem on his hand light up. Like lightning, he quickly ran up to Rogue to deliver a punch, but his arm just went through Rogue, like water.

That was a fake, I realized. Rogue had made a fake shadow… which meant… Rogue disappeared again. I looked around. Where could he be? I looked to my left, then to my right. He was gone.

Suddenly, I felt a hand slip into my pocket. "Give this to Sting…" a familiar voice said. The sound of the sad tone of voice… I could tell just by listening, Rogue.

"There you are!" Leo yelled. Then, by Rogue's surprise, Leo hit him directly with his Regulus magic, sending him flying into a tree.

"Ugh…" I heard him moan in pain. "Minerva… I'm done here," he stated. He stared into my eyes, as if he _wanted_... no..._ needed_ me to stare back into his ruby red eyes. He looked at me as if he were saying, _I'm sorry_. Then he vanished, as if he wasn't there in the first place.

"Rogue!" Minerva exclaimed in anger. She first glared at my direction and then, she also disappeared with the snap of her fingers, as if she wasn't even there in the first place.

I fell to my knees in shock and took deep breaths. For some reason, I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep. "Mistress?" I heard Leo say. "Do you need a rest? It is natural for you to feel tired since I was the first spirit you ever summoned."

"No…" I panted. "I don't." I touched my pocket that Rogue slipped his hand into and noticed that there was a glass jar in there. I pulled it out to see a bright white light inside the jar. What… was this? I remembered Rogue saying to give this to Sting… Was this something to heal Sting?

Slowly, I crawled over to Sting. "Sting…" I panted. I reached over him and looked at the glass jar again. Should I trust Rogue? I wondered. He did such a bad thing to Sting… yet… I felt like I should. I looked back at Sting. He was panting in pain. I noticed that shadows were slowly creeping up his body and pulling him into the ground.

"Sting!" I screamed. Like water, the shadows seemed to be pulling him to the ground. "Leo!" I yelled. "Help me!" I grabbed one of his arms and tried to pull him out of the shadows, but the shadows were like quicksand. I couldn't get him out. It was as if he turned a thousand times more heavy in that short moment. Leo also came over and tried to get him out, but there was no avail. Sting just kept on sinking. Soon, only his head remained on the surface.

I could remember my heart beating wildly in fear of losing my only brother. I was scared. I didn't want to lose him. So I decided to take the chance… and believe Rogue. Quickly, I slipped the jar out of my pocket and opened it as fast as possible.

"Mistress!" Leo cried. "What are you doing?!"

I opened the jar and literally slammed the open jar into Sting's face, maybe a little too hard since I was so afraid.

The white light disappeared from the jar and entered Sting's body. And a flash of white light dispersed into the air. It was so bright, it blinded my eyes. I couldn't see at all. Then, when the light finally stopped shining, I opened my eyes to see Sting standing before me. He was… okay. His stomach wasn't bleeding from Rogue's punch anymore and the blood pouring out of his mouth was gone. At first, I thought Rogue had given Sting a healing potion, but for some reason, I thought there had to be more to it.

"Layla…" Sting said with wide eyes. "W-What happened?" Suddenly, he screamed in pain. I didn't know why, he just started screaming randomly. "ARGH!" he cried. "GAH! ARGH!"

"Sting!" I shouted. I tried to run over to him but my feet couldn't move because… there was a magic circle under Sting. The circle was white and inside was a design of a dragon. "What… in the world?" I whispered. The circle grew brighter and brighter, so bright, it literally blew me away like the wind. Leo caught me from slamming into a tree luckily. I closed my eyes. I had no idea what was happening. And minutes later, I finally opened my eyes.

To see a dragon before me.

**-End of Chapter 19- **

Hi guys! Sorry for the long update! I finally got time this week to update the story! Anyway, part three of Lucy's memories are coming up! Hope you look forward to it!

**NOTE**: When Lucy/Layla said "I love you" to Sting, she only meant it as a sibling. Lucy and Sting are one hundred percent related. There is no way I would pair them together.

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	20. Chapter 20: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

I looked up to see something mankind was sure that went extinct. I was so sure of it also yet...in front of my eyes stood the specie... a dragon. Its scales were pure white and its wings were alike to an angel's feathery wings. It looked terrifying, yet beautiful.

But... even though he looked so different... I could tell who he was. He was my older brother, Sting. I could just sense his presence.

"Sting...?" I asked with a slight sound of fear in my voice. "Wha-What... Is that you...?"

The dragon looked at himself and gasped. He covered his head in shock. "Wh... What in the world...? Why did Rogue put me back like this...? This form..." His expression looked as if he was scared, afraid... of something.

"Sting...?" I asked, confused. "What's wrong?"

Sting, now a dragon, looked down at my eyes. Even as a dragon, his royal blue eyes did remain... but I was still confused by what he just said: _Why did Rogue put me back like this?_

"Layla... please... don't be scared when I tell you this..." Sting said. His eyes were squinted as if he were holding back tears ready to flow any minute. As if his deepest secrets were just let out to his world. "You see... our family does carry some odd genes... such as you being able to use celestial magic. One of them being able to use the strongest magic for mankind: star magic..."

"Star magic...?" I asked. I remembered him mentioning that before but I still had no idea what it really was. "I thought you said that kind of magic didn't carry by genes... I thought that it was magic that chose you... not family line."

"I'm sorry..." Sting replied. "I... lied because I just... didn't want you to be afraid of me or yourself. You see... actually I was born as a dragon from our true mother's womb."

"Wait what? _True _mother? Isn't our mother the queen, Layla Eucliffe? I was named after her!" I said. I was so confused. What was this?

"You were named after her Layla... but your name changed... because Rogue helped me alter the whole world's memories."

"Wait what?" I asked. "Wha... What does this mean...? Y-You lied to me? My memories... Rogue-"

"Your name is truly... Lucy Heartfilia, named after the true queen," Sting explained. "But... the true queen was executed because she gave birth to a monster... me."

"I'm so confused!" I shouted at him. What in the world was he talking about? Monster? True mother? Sting was human! We were together ever since we left our mother's womb, only minutes apart. There was no way he could've kept any secrets about being a monster to me.

Sting began to tell me the story of our true mother, Lucy Heartfilia. I'll just sum it up for you…

My true mother's name was Lucy Heartfilia. She was the heiress of the Heartfilia kingdom from the south of the Eucliffe kingdom. Because the Heartfilia's and Eucliffe's have been fighting from wars for years, the rulers of both kingdoms decided to sign a peace treaty, making an arranged marriage between the Eucliffe's son and the Heartfilia's daughter to show that there was now peace between the two nations. And the daughter sent just so happened to be my mother, Lucy Heartfilia.

My mother also had an older sister. Her name was Layla Heartfilia. When mother was taken to the Eucliffe kingdom, she was married off to their son, the next king and took on the surname Eucliffe. Then, Mother became pregnant with Sting and me; however, she did not know we were going to be twins. Back at that time, twins were seen as a curse to the kingdom. Duplicates of the same person just didn't seem right or moral to them.

When Sting and I were born, Sting had characteristics of not a human, but what people feared of… a monster. He had horns and white feathers with pure white scales all over his body. He was born half dragon and half human. Afraid of this monster, the servants believed that my mother was the cause of this and executed her immediately. They tried to kill her by the same way they tried to kill Rogue, beheadment.

Father was forced to go to the same spot Rogue was executed on, the center of the granite floor. He did not know what was happening. The leaders just told me to come witness something important at the main floor, so he followed them there to see something that gave him nightmares for years.

What he saw were soldiers forcing his wife, Lucy Eucliffe, down on the floor, holding her head down with force… And with the other hand was a heavy ax, ready to slam down on her neck.

"Lucy!" my father shouted.

My mother looked at my father for the last time with a smile. She was not crying, instead she was smiling, as if she wanted to be remembered smiling, not crying. "Save… the boy…" my mother croaked right before the blade cut her neck.

After Mother's execution, Father was terribly angry. He had grown quite fond of my mother for the past few months and was furious of what the leaders decided to do to her. Because of that, Father decided to name me Lucy Heartfilia, the same name as my mother back when she was a maiden. He didn't give me the last name Eucliffe. He wanted to preserve what there was left of my mother, which was why my name was like that.

Father wished to remain a widow due to his never-ending love for my mother but the leaders of the kingdom forced him to marry my mother's older sister, Layla Heartfilia, and take her as his new bride.

And for Sting, he named him Weisslogia, which meant "white" in German. He named Sting this because of his pure white scales and angelic wings. He protected him from any harm because it was what the queen wished for. It was her final wish and her last words, and he swore to grant it.

However, any human would fear a monster like Sting was at the time, so Father hid him within the bars in the dungeon. That was how Sting was raised until he was five… when Sting met Rogue. Rogue was a normal peasant. He was at the dungeons for an unknown reason. We never figured out why he snuck into the castle to get into the dungeons.

Rogue caught sight of Sting while walking in the dungeon floors. He saw a boy with tiny horns on his head and scales growing along his cheeks, arms, and legs. And on his back were long angelic wings.

"What are you doing here?" Rogue asked Sting. "What is your name? Why are you like this?"

"I-I'm Weisslogia…" Sting said.

"Weisslogia sounds like a name of a monster," Rogue told Sting. "We should give you another name. You look human, or maybe even an angel with those wings... I don't like calling you a name of a monster."

"B-But," Sting stuttered. It was the first time for him that someone called him a "human" or an "angel". For his whole life, all he heard were people shouting "monster" or "devil" at him. Hearing something like this just made tears roll down his face. "I-I am a monster-"

"Sting sounds like a nice name," Rogue interrupted. "I'll call you Sting, all right?"

Sting didn't tell me much detail about his and Rogue's conversation. I guess it was private or something. I didn't want to force him to tell me so I didn't say anything. He said a year after that, Rogue helped him break out of the prison every night to teach him how to use his dragon-like powers, and soon, he discovered how to turn into a dragon. However, he hated transforming into a dragon. So he remained in his half dragon and human form.

Eventually, when he was eight, my brother learned how to hide all of his dragon characteristics, enough to look like a normal boy like he is today. He looked completely human. A normal person could never tell the difference unless he or she could use magic.

You may be wondering why I didn't know anything about this. Rogue never gave my memories back for this but apparently, his existence was kept secret from me and the rest of the world, just as my existence was kept secret.

Once Sting learned how to do that, Rogue cleansed the memories of everyone in the world. Rogue was just that powerful. He cleansed the shadows of everyone's memories and made new ones. One of them was the erase of Lucy Heartfilia's existence. Sting hated seeing Father's pained face when thinking of Mother so, reluctantly, her existence was erased. However, there was one side effect to this: the old memories from before could never return ever again. They were erased, forever. If it was such a huge population, it was impossible to restore any person's memories. There was just too much.

However, really, Sting was smarter than me. Other than magic, Rogue had also been teaching Sting academics. So when the memories of everything were erased and replaced with false memories, I was seen as a disgrace to the family and ended up how I was before.

That was basically the beginning of everything.

After Sting finished explaining everything to me, I gave him a tight hug while crying. "Why didn't you ever tell me…?" I asked him.

"You… You aren't mad… Layla?" Sting asked.

"Why would I be mad?" I asked.

"I switched our roles!" Sting shouted. He hugged me back tightly as he cried. "I made you the one who suffered! I was just trying to escape my own suffering… But instead… I made you suffer instead. And… I erased our true mother's existence-"

"You did it for Father, right?" I interrupted. "Father was suffering! And you were worried about him…"

"But-"

"And you were always there for me!" I said. "Whenever I suffered, you knew exactly how I felt so you were able to be there for me!"

Sting and I just sat there, hugging each other while crying for hours. Even though he was a dragon as I was hugging him, his gentle warm arms remained the same. We didn't talk anymore, until Sting said, "Thank you."

**OoO**

"You can't transform back into a human?" I asked with a confused face.

"I don't know why…" Sting replied. "It just won't work…"

Rogue had somehow blocked Sting's ability to transform into human or dragon as he pleased. I just couldn't believe that… the Rogue I knew could've done this… I just can't. The Rogue I loved wasn't terrible… He was kind and always had a reason for doing something…

So there had to be a reason for Sting turning into a dragon forcibly.

But… what was the reason? Was it for me? So I could learn more about my true past? What… was it?

It was much harder to hide because of Sting's large body. Also, he was practically a shining beacon now since he _was _the white dragon. We decided to hide in the cave nearby so we wouldn't stand out. We sat there until we could figure out a way to transform Sting back.

"Hey Sting," I said. "Do you want me to call you Sting or Weisslogia now..?"

"Doesn't really matter," Sting replied. "They are just names. Names just identify people, that's all-"

"Sting."

"Hm?"

"I'll call you Sting," I said.

"Oh, okay."

"Because you seem more human to me than a monster…" I said with a frown. "Weisslogia is a monster's name. I don't like it."

Sting just stared at me with wide eyes. As if I just said something spectacular. But he soon stopped by shaking his head with a smile. "How about you?" he asked. "Layla Eucliffe or Lucy Heartfilia?"

I thought about it for a while. I wanted to keep my Eucliffe name, really. I was proud of the last name, but I also loved the sound of my mother's name. Everytime I heard it, it was as if my ears just rung in delight. It was as if her name was meant to be passed on to me. I knew that Layla was my stepmother's name, but… to be honest, I really want to be named after someone who respected me for who I was.

"Lucy…" I said in a quiet voice. I cough and attempted to say the name again with more strength in my voice. "Lucy Heartfilia," I said again strongly.

"Lucy?" Sting said. He smirked. "It's going to take a while for me to get used to it but whatever you like princess."

"Don't call me that!" I slapped Sting in the arm playfully. "It's _Lucy_. Besides, I'm not a princess anymore and you're not a prince! We're…" My mouth hesitates to say the word. "We're…" Tears began to burst out of my eyes. "... free."

**OoO**

We have been hiding in that cave for the past few days. Instead of my brother hunting for us, I did, because Sting's dragon form would've stood out to much and his stomping would alert the nearby villagers. But, when a week passed, we saw _her _again. Minerva.

It was three in the morning. Sting had his warm feathery wing around my body like a blanket as I slept. He was on night watch for the day. Then suddenly I felt Sting's claw poke me a little.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Sting shouted. "Wake up!"

My eyes fluttered open to see emerald eyes staring into my royal blue eyes. Long black hair blew out of the skinny figure. Behind her was the familiar black robed male, Rogue. It was Minerva and Rogue, again. What had they come back for this time? I glared at Minerva in disgust.

"So you transformed into your dragon form?" Minerva asked Sting. Sting immediately stood in front of me to protect me.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. By the way Minerva talked, it seemed as though she didn't know about Sting's situation of not being able to transform back into a human.

"I see…" Minerva said with a smirk. "You transformed to protect your little princess, Layla, huh? Since you _are _stronger in your dragon form."

Sting stepped forward, creating a mini earthquake. "Shut it old hag," he simply stated. His mouth filled with white light and roared at Minerva, covering her with his roar of light.

As Minerva and Sting fought, I looked over at Rogue, who was just leaning on a tree, sleeping as they fought. But I was sure that he was just pretending to sleep. I thought about that potion he gave Sting. Sure it saved Sting's life, but why change him into a dragon too?

I just couldn't help but think that there _had _to be some good intention in Rogue's actions… Suddenly, I saw one of Rogue's eyes open to look at me. His ruby red eyes gazed into my royal blue ones. Immediately, my face flushed in embarrassment as I quickly looked away.

_What is wrong with me?_ I thought to myself. I couldn't still be in love with our enemy. Suddenly, he looked over to Minerva, as if he were making sure she wasn't looking, and then quickly ran towards me.

"La-Layla!" Rogue whispered loudly. He ran up to me and was about to hold me by the shoulder like he always did to greet me but I slapped his hand away as I covered my eyes with my bangs.

I could not do this anymore. I couldn't have any connection with someone trying to hurt my brother anymore. "Don't touch me," I simply stated. I forced my eyes to glare at him. "And my name isn't Layla. It's Lucy."

His face suddenly made a pained expression, as if he was about to cry. Seeing him like that just… made my heart ache. _Stop it heart_, I told myself. _You don't have any connection with him anymore._

"I see…" Rogue said. "I… I'm sorry… I just wanted to warn you… Um… If Minerva beats Sting in this fight, you'll be cursed with the same curse as-"

"GAH!" a voice behind us screamed, interrupting Rogue. My eyes widened in fear. I knew that scream anywhere.

I quickly turned around to see Sting with blood seeping out of his pure white scales. It was as if someone had just splattered his white body with red paint, everywhere. "Sting!" I screamed.

"Wait Lay-, I mean Lucy!" Rogue shouted. I felt his hands brush against my back, attempting to grab onto me. But I ran too fast for him. "Don't go there!" he cried. But I ignored him and ran by Sting's side, kneeling next to him as my tears of worry blurred the image of the forest.

I knew it wasn't enough but I tried to use my sleeve to wipe off the blood flowing out of Sting's wounds. But Sting's body was too big since he was a dragon. The blood just kept on flowing endlessly. _If only I didn't spend so much time staring at Rogue… I should've helped Sting… I'm an idiot…_

"LAYLA!" I heard Rogue's voice cry from afar. "RUN!"

But I just ignored him again, especially since he called me "Layla" again. Didn't he know my name was Lucy? All I did was focus on Sting. Little did I know that the decision I made would impact me… forever.

"Immortal slave," I heard Minerva say from a distance.

Before I had time to react, a light enveloped Sting and I, blinding us.

**\- End of Chapter 20 -**

Hi guys! I noticed some people were unfollowing this story. Of course it made me a bit upset but I can't force you guys to follow this story. So instead, I just want to thank those of you who did not unfollow and stuck with my story. I really appreciate you guys! It made me really happy. Thank you so much for supporting me and waiting patiently for my next chapter! Next chapter will be coming soon~ It will be the last one on Lucy's memories! NALU moments coming next next chapter! Sorry for the long wait!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	21. Chapter 21: Lucy

"…_**you will be emotionally attached to a man who can control fire, and he will be the one to kill you."**_

**Lucy Heartfilia**

The light burned me, from my eyes to my toes. My head began to ache terribly. The light that enveloped Sting and I was too strong. It made me feel like something or someone was twisting my body to death. It made me feel dead.

I tried to fight my way out of this light. But it seemed like wherever I ran, there was no end to the light. As time passed, my muscles began to burn like fire. It seemed like the path of light wouldn't ever end. I fell down due to fatigue. _Sting…_ I thought. _Where's Sting? _I reached my hand out. Was I going to die here? I tried to move my leg again but I just felt that same burning sensation.

It was painful, like death.

Soon my body gave in. I layed on the ground, motionless. I looked far out with my half-opened eyes. _Sting… _I thought. He was in this light too. I just knew it. I could still sense his presence. But… Where was he?

I closed my eyes and cried as my consciousness was slowly lost.

**OoO**

My eyes fluttered open to see Minerva right above me, looking into my royal blue eyes. "Ah!" I screamed in surprise. I quickly scooted over to the side and stared at Minerva. What the hell was she doing here? I looked around to see that I was in the same cave Sting and I were hiding…

That's right… Where was Sting?

All I remembered was a burning sensation from a light that came out of Minerva. I looked at her. She was still staring at me. She didn't say a thing. I looked around the cave for Sting. I noticed him laying on the side of the cave. I gasped and quickly crawled over to him.

"Sting! Sting!" I screamed. I shook Sting's body over and over again. "Sting! Wake up!" After a few minutes, his eyes fluttered open like a baby's.

"Lay-Layla?" he said. I knew I told him to call me Lucy but I ignored that. I didn't care. If it was Sting, I could tolerant being called that disgusting name. He was used to calling me Layla anyway.

"Sting… Thank goodness…" I said. I began to weep in happiest. Thank goodness… Thank god. I truly thought he was dead. I noticed that he was back to his human form. How did that happen?

"You're my slaves now," a voice behind me interrupted. I quickly turned around to see Minerva. She crossed her legs and arms and glared at us with her frightening emerald green eyes. "Don't you dare think about disobeying my words."

"Why are you the one to judge what we do?" I asked her, confused.

"You're my immortal slaves," she said. "You do what I say."

"...What?" I asked. Immortal..? Like Rogue? I couldn't believe my ears. I immediately stood up and ran out of that cave.

"Layla!" I could hear Sting shout behind me.

I ignored his shout and ran even faster. _Faster…_ I thought. _Faster… Faster... _I felt tired but the fatigue didn't stop me from running. I just ran. "Why…" I said to myself. I looked to my right to see a lake. I thought for a second. I could feel myself drowning if I went over there. I could tell if I was mortal. I was definitely mortal, not immortal.

I ran there and jumped in the water. I could feel the water tangle my hair around. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to sink. I could feel my lungs burning. I felt as though I was drowning. Did this mean I was still mortal? I stayed in the water a little longer. That was strange… It was painful, as if a fire was burning within me, but I wasn't dying.

I had been underwater for at least an hour. My lungs felt like they were about to burst, but I was still alive. How was this possible? I didn't want to think about it. I always thought immortality was interesting and cool, but in reality it was so… terrifying.

I couldn't die. I could be ripped apart or put underwater and feel pain, but I couldn't die. My body would just put itself back together again.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab my arms. I struggled to try to get the guy off of my arms. _No! _I screamed in my mind. _I want to die! Let me go! I'm not immortal! I'm dead! I'm… a mortal…_

However, because of the burning in my lungs, I couldn't resist against the stranger. I was quickly pulled out of the water. Once my mouth reached the air, I breathed heavily.

"Layla!" the person who grabbed me shouted. His voice sounded familiar but my ears were full of water, making it hard to identify the voice. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"

I gasped for more air and turned around to look at the person. My eyes widened to meet the ruby red eyes. "Rogue…?" I said. "W-What are you-"

"Are you stupid?!" Rogue scolded me. "Even if you're immortal, you'll still feel pain! Idiot!" He slowly helped me swim back to the shore and rested me on the grass.

I could feel tears trying to burst out of my eyes. "I… I'm not immortal…" I cried. I began to cry heavily. My tears kept flowing from my eyes endlessly. "I'm not immortal!" I screamed over and over again. My body began to shake in fear, shivering. I wasn't sure if it was because I was so scared or just cold from the water.

Rogue looked at me, suddenly took his black coat off and wrapped it around me. Then he hugged me tight saying, "I'm sorry… Lay-... Lucy." I could feel his tears falling onto my cheek. "I'm so sorry… I-I could've prevented it, but I was afraid." He hugged me so tight that it was almost hard to breathe. "I'm so sorry, Lucy!" he cried over and over again.

The warmth from his arms felt comforting, almost like family, but I pushed him away before I could further become emotionally attached to this person. I stood up and threw the coat he put over my shoulders at him. "Stay away from me," I stated loudly. "I don't want to even glance at you anymore."

I was about to walk away but his strong hand wrapped around my ankle, not letting me go. "Lucy!" he cried loudly. "Lucy! I-I… I can't… I can't live without you! Please… don't leave me… Lucy…"

I kicked his hand off and ran away quickly, crying. "Why… Why?" I kept crying over and over again. I didn't want to become attached to someone who betrayed my family. No. Never. Suddenly, I tripped due to running too fast. I scrapped the palms of my hands and knees badly.

I slammed my fist into the ground so hard, I began to bleed badly. I didn't even know why I was crying. There was too many things happening. First, I was betrayed by my best friend. Second, my precious brother and I turned immortal. And et cetera. I couldn't take this anymore. I was hurt. I didn't know how to describe it, but I was so hurt to the point where I wanted to kill myself… But I couldn't… because I was _immortal_.

"Layla…" A familiar voice said.

I looked up to see Sting, standing before me. He was the only one I would allow to call me Layla. No one else. I didn't want to hear that disgusting name from anyone else.

Sting kneeled down and helped me get up. He hugged me tight. "Where did you go, stupid sister…" I could see his eyes trying to hide the tears he wanted to burst out. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" he shouted in his mad voice.

I cringed. Sting never shouted madly like this at me before. "I looked for you everywhere! Idiot!" Sting continued shouting. His eyes began to cry as if he couldn't hold it in anymore. He wrapped his arms around me as he cried. "Idiot! Idiot!" he shouted over and over again as he cried on my shoulder.

"Sting…" I said as I hugged him back. "A-Are we really immortal…?" I cried. "It can't be… right?" I loosened the hug and gripped my hands onto his sturdy arms. I stared into his eyes. "Right… Sting?"

He didn't reply. I gripped onto his arms harder, so hard that my fingers began to bleed. "R-Right… Sting…?" I said again. "It was a joke right? This whole thing is a joke Rogue and Minerva set up right?!"

But Sting didn't reply. He just stood there and stared into my eyes, speechless on how to reply. It was as if there was a lump on his throat, not allowing him to speak.

"I-It's not true… Right Sting?" I said once more. But I already knew the answer. It was obvious. Anyone would know the answer. I just didn't want to accept it. I _couldn't _accept it. It was just too unbelievable, even though there was evidence. Even though I was underwater for over an hour and did not die from it; I could not believe it.

Sting and I didn't say anything more. We just stood there, crying, as I asked the question over and over again. That was it. It was reality.

**OoO**

Eventually, I learned to accept the fact that I was immortal. It was hard but I learned to do it. I lived as a slave in Minerva's mansion with Sting and Rogue. Minerva kept us using magic cuffs with red orbs on top of them. We couldn't escape from the barrier around the mansion she made with these. Sting and I tried various times to break them off, but it was impossible.

We slept with the horses in the shed. My hair never grew, it was always shoulder length and uneven. I just couldn't grow anymore. Also, we never ate food. We were immortal so we didn't need to eat anymore. But even so, we could still feel the pain of hunger.

It was hard but thats how I lived for centuries. Four hundred years later, I learned of a secret of Minerva by eavesdropping on a conversation she was having with a man I couldn't identify. It was the _weakness of immortality_.

I was just mopping the floor like every usual morning until I noticed a stranger in one of the living rooms with Minerva.

"... You know if they find out their individual weaknesses they are just going to kill themselves, right?" Minerva screamed at the man. "They'll kill me too!"

"Minerva," the man said. "Don't worry, they won't find out your weakness. Look, what will go wrong now? We've been controlling them for four hundred years already! All their friends are dead, no one can help them now!"

Minerva's face seemed to panic. "No!" she screamed. "They'll find out my weakness on my body. Every immortal person has an achilles heel, whether it's on their body or something else!"

"Minerva, you know my daughter is already researching this," the man said. "We'll find out what went wrong with Rogue and how we can make every immortal like him."

I grasped onto my twelve keys madly. I finally found out a way to die, I just had to make Minerva tell me. Slowly, I walked towards the two people talking. I couldn't remember the man's appearance or name. All I remembered was that he was muscular, like every strong guy. He had a long black cape, but that was all I could remember. It was too long ago. I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to fight this guy, but who cared? I was immortal, I couldn't die anyway.

"Achilles heel, huh?" I stated loudly, interrupting their conversation. I allowed my bangs to cover my eyes. "Like the Greeks?" I asked as I tilted my head with the eeriest smile I ever pulled off. "Tell me more," I said as I laughed.

Minerva's face began to look pale. "W-What?" she shouted. She glared at me. "S-Since when were you listening?"

I walked up to Minerva with my torn up clothes I had worn for about four-hundred years. I had lived for so long that I had forgotten my age. I could only approximate. I gripped the collar of her clothes and glared into her eyes. "Tell me this weakness," I shouted at her, allowing my spit to hit her pitiful face. "Tell me now Minerva!"

"I-I don't know!" she screamed. "Leave me alone you piece of crap!" She pushed me away abruptly.

I fell onto the floor and looked up to see the man whose face I couldn't remember. "Do you really want to know your weakness and the rest?" the man asked me with an obviously fake kind smile.

Minerva elbowed the man. "Quiet!" she hissed at him.

"For Sting, it's if he ever turns into a dragon ever again," he said with a laugh. "And for you, it's fire."

My eyes widened. Being told something like this so easily seemed unbelievable. I could finally die after all of these years. Finally. My life could end. The sound of a weakness sounded like a dream. I began to wonder if any of my celestial spirits could use fire.

"Hey!" Minerva shouted at the man. "How could you just tell her so easily?!" she screamed.

"Trust me," he said with a smirk. "I know what I'm doing."

I thought about this for a second. How come he didn't mention Rogue's weakness? That was strange. I just couldn't help but think it was odd. "What about Rogue?" I asked with a confused face. "He has a weakness too, right?"

"Ah, Rogue," the man said. "He has a really rare case. He doesn't have a weakness."

My eyes widened. "W-What?" I asked.

"You know, Minerva can predict the future, right?" the man said. "She also creates your weaknesses too based on the future since every immortal must have a weakness-"

_Future? _I thought. _Why would she make such an easy weakness for me like fire?_ I wondered at the time. Of course I didn't know about Natsu at that time. I mean, who knew that I would end up falling in love with my weakness?

"You talk too much," Minerva said, interrupting the man. "It's just that when Rogue became immortal, something went wrong. So now he's permanently immortal, that's all." She rolled her eyes as she shrugged. "The future is a bit hazy to me anyway," she said as if she read my mind, "but you will be emotionally attached to a man who can control fire, and he will be the one to kill you."

"Psh," I laughed. "Are you crazy?" I thought the woman was going insane. I already promised myself to never fall in love again. After what happened with Rogue, I never wanted emotional attachment ever again. The only person who I could be attached to was my brother. That was it. No one else.

As I thought, I looked up to ask the man and Minerva a question, but instead. my eyes widened. They were gone, as if they weren't even there in the first place.

I ran all over the mansion to find them, but they were all gone. "Minerva!" I screamed over and over again. But it was too late. They had already run away.

Before they could run any further, I knew I had to talk to my brother about this, so I immediately ran over to my brother to tell him about the whole conversation.

"We can finally end our lives Sting!" I exclaimed, smiling.

"No," Sting said. "I won't end my life until I find Minerva."

"What?" I said. "Why?" Why? I wondered over and over again. What was the point? Couldn't we rest in peace now? What was the point of finding her?

"I would never be able to rest in peace if she ran loose and continued to turn people immortal just to be her slaves forever," Sting said. "You said that her weakness is a part of her body right? So as long as we hit that part of her body, she will die."

I didn't want to hear it, but I knew he was right. I couldn't allow Minerva and that man make more people immortal just for their selfishness. "Fine," I said. "I'll corporate… Let's go look for Rogue and ask for his cooperation."

"Alright," Sting replied.

We walked around the shed to look for Rogue, but to our surprise, he was also gone. All we could find was a note on his bed that said: _**I took him with me.**_ It was probably from Minerva also.

_Damn it. _I thought. I began to cry. It wasn't because I still loved him or anything, I had long gotten rid of that feeling. That moment was when I realized something very important that I should have realized a long time ago. Whether Rogue betrayed my family or not, he was still my friend and family and instead of ignoring him, I should have forgiven him like a true family member would.

I grasped onto the note Minerva wrote and cried, remembering the many times Rogue apologized to me for betraying. "Idiot!" I cried to myself. I was such an idiot. Why didn't I forgive him? I knew that he was strong enough to defend himself against Minerva, even if it was only a couple minutes. If I only forgave him, he wouldn't have submitted himself so easily. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot-"

"Layla…" Sting said, interrupting me.

"Wha-What?" I said, crying.

"Look," he said. "This already happened. We might as well make the best of it." I blinked a couple of times to make sure I was hearing correctly. _Make the best of it?_ Was he crazy? Rogue was missing, what were we going to do? We had to search the entire world just to find him _and_ Minerva.

"First, let's look for Rogue," he said. "I can look for his shadow using my light. Then we can all head for Minerva and get her together."

And that was exactly what we did for the next one-hundred years: looking for Rogue. It was difficult, but finally, after about a century, we finally tracked Rogue's shadow down.

I was wearing the modern day jeans and tank top. Sting was wearing a t-shirt and jeans also. As time passed, we had to follow the modern way of dress or else we would look suspicious. Or else I would definitely prefer the loose pants males always wore in the past than the tight skinny jeans all the girls wore now.

We spotted Rogue on a field, no one else there. It looked as if he was just there waiting for us, but I could sense that Minerva had been there shortly before. His way of dress also was the same as he used to wear when I first met him five-hundred years ago. He wore a ragged shirt and a pair of loose brown pants with a rope to keep it on his waist. It was odd to find someone casually wearing something like that these days.

"What are you doing here, Rogue?" I asked with a kind voice. I stuck out my right hand for a handshake. "We've been looking for you," I said with a smile. "Come on, let's go!"

My eyes widened to see that he didn't react to me at all. Rogue just stared at me emotionlessly. Was it because he thought that I didn't forgive him yet?

"Rogue," I said. "I forgave you for what you did to us already. Come on, we have things to tell you-"

But to my surprise, Rogue interrupted me by slamming his fist in my face, making me fly backwards.

"Layla!" Sting screamed in worry. Yes, after all these years, he still had the habit of calling me Layla. "Are you alright?!" He held my shoulders. "Layla! Layla!"

"I'm okay…" I said, moaning in pain. Slowly, I stood up. "What's wrong with you Rogue?!" I shouted. "Let's go! We aren't here to fight with you-"

"Layla," Sting interrupted. "He's different…"

"W-What?" I said, my eyes widened. I wrapped my hands around his left arm and shook it over and over again. "What do you mean…? He's just Rogue Cheney… Right, Sting?"

"It's not that Layla," Sting said. He lifted my hands off his arm and put it on my sides. He sighed. "It's Rogue but… he changed. He isn't the same person we once knew anymore."

What was he saying? Rogue was still part of us either way, evil or not. I thought he forgave him too. "But Sting-"

"LAYLA! WATCH OUT!" Sting suddenly shouted, pushing me onto the soft grass. My eyes widened to see a shadowy figure move at the speed of light barely miss Sting's body. I recognized it as Rogue immediately.

I immediately stood up to make eye contact with Rogue. "Psh," he said, laughing. "Forgiven me you say?" he said. He combed his hair out of the way with his hands. I gasped in surprise. I had never seen him do that before. Rogue hated allowing his right eye to show. He told me that himself. After all, he had a scar from his forehead down to his cheek. This was actually the first time I saw the scar. It was ugly but I didn't care. It was still Rogue, and he was still family to me.

He walked up to me and touched my blonde hair. "You think-" he pulled my hair hard as I cried in pain, "-I really care?"

I slapped his hand away in anger. "What the hell is wrong with you Rogue?!" I shouted. "Don't you remember who… I am?"

"Lucy Heartfilia?" Rogue said as if it was obvious. "Or should I say, _Layla Eucliffe_?"

I cringed when I heard him say my true name. I didn't like hearing it from anyone else besides my brother. "S-Shut up!" I yelled. "You know I don't like it when people call me by that name-"

"Layla," Rogue said with a smirk. I knew he was just saying it to get me pissed. I grasped onto my keys tightly as he walked in circles around me and Sting. Suddenly, he grabbed Sting by the neck. I noticed that Sting actually did get hit. His back was bleeding badly and his face from his forehead to his right eye was scarred badly.

"STING!" I screamed.

"Ugh…" Sting groaned. I could see blood dripping from his forehead. Fear crept onto my face as his hands tried to get Rogue to let go of his neck. However, he was too weak and was losing blood too fast. He couldn't muster the strength to rescue himself.

"Stop!" I screamed. "Rogue!" I didn't want Sting to get hurt, but I didn't want to hurt Rogue either. What was I going to do now? I was just so confused. Why was Rogue doing this?

"Layla," Rogue said with a smirk. That smile was the eeriest smile I had ever seen. Once I saw that smile, I knew the old Rogue I knew was gone. "Close your eyes."

"What?" I said.

"Close your eyes," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"Close your eyes," he repeated.

Did he think I was going to trust him? With Sting in his hands? I knew Sting was immortal and he was just feeling pain, but I still wanted to save him as fast as possible.

I didn't like using my keys a lot, but I had no choice. I pulled a random key out from my pocket. I looked at the sign of the key on the top and recognized it immediately, remembering how Sting described them to me five hundred years ago.

"Gate of the maiden!" I shouted. "I open thee…" I concentrated my power in the area I was in. The golden circle successfully appeared below my feet. "Virgo!" I screamed as loud as I could.

A swirl of golden light appeared before me and subsided after a few seconds. A girl who looked my age appeared before me in a maid costume. Her hair was pink and ended at her chin. And her eyes were baby blue. Now that I think about it, Virgo from my _**Prince Natsu Fan Club**_ was the exact image as her. That was odd. I couldn't understand why though. Why was Virgo pretending to be my classmate at Fairy High when she was actually my celestial spirit?

Anyway, I summoned Virgo at that time. "Is it time for punishment, Mistress?" Virgo asked me.

"No…?" I said in confusion. For some reason, Virgo really enjoyed punishment. I was never sure why. "Please help my brother Virgo!"

"Yes, Mistress," she replied. Then she dug a deep hole in the ground. Rogue looked around in panic, after all, he wouldn't know where she would be coming from.

I sensed where Virgo was. She was going in the right direction, but when she struck Rogue, his image disappeared. Damn it. It was another fake. I forced Virgo's gate to close and looked around to find Rogue, but he didn't seem to be anywhere. Knowing him, he could only hide in the shadows, so I looked into the shadows of the trees, but he wasn't there either.

I looked down at my shadow. It wasn't in the shape of my body. I could tell by the masculine figure and ruby red eyes that shined from the shadow. "Rogue!" I shouted. But by the time I noticed, it was too late. Rogue, moving at the speed of light, quickly hit me several times over and over again. Then he stood in front of me again as I crawled on the grassy floor.

"Close your eyes," he said again. Sting was unconscious on his shoulder.

I didn't want to trust him, never again. He tricked me too many times. I was angered by this. I still considered him family however, so it was impossible for me to hate him.

I thought about the time Sting told me about star magic. I did think about using it, but I remembered the amount of energy it would take to use. If I failed, who would save the unconscious Sting? I decided to give my keys one more try.

Quickly, I pulled out another key from my pocket. "Gate of the scorpion!" I cried. "I open thee!" I allowed my magic to rush out of my body and twisted my hand as if I were opening a door knob. "Scorpio!"

But to my surprise, nothing happened. "Scorpio?" I asked. My eyes widened and my body shook in fear. This never happened to me before. "Scorpio! Open! Scorpio!"

"Minerva blocked your celestial magic," Rogue stated. "If you want to protect Sting so much, all you have to do is close your eyes."

"I-If I close my eyes, what are you going to do…?" I asked in confusion. "What's with you?"

"I'll take your memories, and your eye color too since it's a side effect," he stated simply. The eye color was my special connection to royalty. For an Eucliffe, losing the royal blue color of his or her pupils was the same as stripping royalty away from them. "That's all. Or else Sting is going to suffer the life of a slave again."

My body cringed at the sound of _slave_. But the sound of my memories being taken away seemed even scarier. I could care less about my royal blue eyes. I had long gone away from royalty. The royal blue eyes I had was the only thing that connected me to the royal bloodline. I despised being royal in the first place so the eyes didn't mean anything to me.

But what about Sting? If I lost my memories, then how would I know about my sibling relation to Sting? Would I forget about him too? I began to tear up. I didn't want to forget about Sting, despite all of my terrible experiences. My memories was what made myself _me_. Without my memories, would I turn into a completely different person?

I looked over to Sting. I knew Rogue was too strong for me. He was always stronger than me, being two years older. And also, since I was immortal, my body was paused in time, so no matter how hard I trained to get stronger, I always remained the same. So I was always going to be this weak forever.

But despite all of that, I would do anything to save Sting.

"Fine…" I said reluctantly. I looked at the world as _Layla Eucliffe _for the last time. "Just promise me three things, Rogue."

"What?" he asked.

"First, let me at least remember my name as _Lucy Heartfilia_," I said. Then, suddenly, my throat seemed to have a lump in it. I couldn't speak. My tears began to fall from the second condition I was about to say.

I breathed deeply and said, "Second, make sure Sting doesn't try to contact me after my memories are taken… To make sure he doesn't take me far away from this land." I really didn't want to say the second condition, but if Sting knew about my memories, I knew that he would try to avenge me for his whole life. I wanted him to find Minerva and kill her, not for me, but himself… and then die peacefully instead of wanting to avenge me his whole life.

"I can do that," Rogue said. "But what about the third thing?"

I breathed heavily as my tears would not stop falling. "This is totally optional but… I would be really happy if you could promise me this…" I told him. I looked at the green scenery for the last time and closed my royal blue eyes. "Promise me that you'll return to me as my kind childhood friend you once were."

I felt his hand cover my crying eyes as my world turned pitch black.

"I will… Layla…" I heard him whisper to me, as if it were a secret.

Then my world turned completely blank and white.

That was how I ended up in Japan, in Fairy High, with chocolate brown eyes.

**-End of Chapter 21-**

Hello guys! This was the last chapter of Lucy's memories. NALU moments will be coming back soon! Sorry for the long wait! Anyway, it's a couple days late, but Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!

If you guys don't remember, I wrote about Sting's scar on his face back in chapter two. So that was an explanation of how he got it.

And Virgo was in the _**Prince Natsu Club**_ with Lucy back in chapter one if you want to look back at it.

Thank you so much for reading and please review~ Thanks!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	22. Chapter 22: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

While we are flying on Sting's dragon form's back, I am hugging Lucy tight. I don't want her to leave me ever again. The reassurance of her weight leaning on me makes me cry in happiness. Her warmth. Her everything. It all reassures me.

However, suddenly, a hand forces my arms that were around her body loose and takes Lucy out of my arms. My eyes widen to see that it is Rogue. Rogue forces Lucy out of my arms and pushes her off Sting's back. Then they freefall, together.

I see him mouthing something to Lucy as they fall. Then I watch as Rogue puts his right hand over Lucy's eyes. My keen ears hear him say, "_I will give them back to you now…_"

"LUCE!" I cry as I watch Lucy's chocolate brown eyes close into an unconscious state.

Rogue spins in the air with an unconscious Lucy in his arms and lands on the floor flawlessly. He holds her bridal style.

"Sting!" I shout. "Hurry up and get down there to save Lucy!" I look at Rogue again. His face looks extremely pale and white as a ghost. I wonder why. Just a few seconds ago, he was looking alright.

I look at Sting again. For some reason, he isn't moving. He is just flying there, looking at Rogue and Lucy with his kind eyes. He doesn't look alarmed at all. He looks more… relaxed? Why…?

Suddenly, Rogue puts down Lucy and begins to cough endlessly. He drops down to knees and holds his throat with both hands, as if he was choking.

"ROGUE!" Sting cries. In fast speed, he flies down to Rogue to check on him. He flies so fast that I almost fall off his back from the impact from the wind.

Why is he so worried about him? He is the enemy, not friend. I am so confused. What's going on? Why is Rogue coughing blood?

"Rogue!" Sting shouts again. He lands on the ground and quickly runs up to Rogue in his dragon form. He uses his claw to gently hold Rogue's body. "Rogue! Rogue!" he shouts over and over again.

"I-I'm okay… Sting…" Rogue says, weakly smiling at Sting. He slowly points to Lucy. "L-Look at Layla, I mean… Lu-Lucy… I gave her back her memories Sting…"

My eyes widen. Memories? That was what Rogue was trying to do this whole time? My mouth is open in shock.

"You idiot!" Sting shouts, crying. "You know what's going to happen to you if you do that! You'll die!"

Die…? I shiver. That word alone scares me.

"Wait Sting…" Rogue coughs. "You overheard Minerva and my conversation…?"

"Minerva had you steal Layla's memories… because you could manipulate memories…" Sting replies. "And the punishment for you ever giving her memories back was… death."

Rogue smiles and holds onto Sting's claw tightly. "Yeah… That's right... I'm sorry... Sting."

Sting smiles slowly and nods, slowly turning back into his human form. I can not speak. All I can do is watch. What are they talking about? The only Minerva I know is Lisanna's best friend and I doubt she is the one the two of them are talking about.

Sting is now back in his human form. He smiles gently at Rogue and holds onto his hand tight. None of them speak. I notice Rogue's body begins to fade like a ghost. Sting's eyes are moist, ready to cry any minute. But I know that he is just trying his hardest to not cry. Now that I think about it, Sting cries pretty easily. Perhaps since Rogue is dying, Sting wants to smile the whole time so Rogue won't have any worries or regrets before he dies.

"R-Rogue..." a feminine voice interrupts Sting. All three of us quickly turn around to see that Lucy has woken. She looks pale in fear. Her body is shaking and she looks near tears. Her hands cover her agape mouth and her eyes are widened. Tears slowly drip down her cheek.

Eh? Is it just me, or are Lucy's eyes royal blue and not chocolate brown anymore? Did she suddenly wear contacts? Her eyes greatly resembles Sting's eyes. The same royal blue eyes. The same hair. Now that her eyes are blue, I can clearly see that she and Sting are twins. It is definitely more this because her memories of the past were back?

"Lu… Luce!" I cry. I am so glad that she is awake. Quickly, I run towards her. "Luce!" I shout again. She also runs towards my direction. I am about to hug her in happiness when suddenly, instead of running into my arms, she simply runs past me.

"ROGUE!" she shouts.

Immediately, she runs toward Rogue. She grabs him by the shoulders, which causes the both of them to fall on the ground, and lays right on top of him. She looks as though she is about to kiss him. My blood begins to boil and I feel angry. What the hell? Why are Sting and Lucy acting so chummy with the enemy all the sudden? Why did she run to him… instead of me? My jealousy begins to make me get a headache. I feel like throwing up. I feel like I am about to cry. Was I always this much of a crybaby? I don't cry over little things like jealousy. Come on, I'm a guy, not some little broken hearted girl.

Wait… _jealousy_? I'm not jealous, haha. I'm just being overprotective… Hahaha… Right? I'm just worried that Rogue is actually tricking her into doing something, or she remembered something that… would affect her feelings towards me…

What in the world am I thinking? What _feelings_? Haha, nice joke Natsu, tell yourself another one.

I watch Lucy cry over Rogue's body. When I see her like this, it reminds me of the time Gray was in the hospital many months ago. It breaks my heart to see Lucy cry like this. Just watching her makes me cry also. "Don't leave me…" she cries in a squeaky voice. "Please… don't…"

Rogue puts his hand over Lucy's face. "I'm sorry…" he said to her. "I tried to keep you from having the same fate as me…" He begins to cough blood again. Sting steps back, as if to give Lucy and Rogue room.

"Don't talk idiot!" Lucy yells. "You'll lose blood faster!"

Suddenly, Rogue's body begins to fade faster. He is fading away.

"ROGUE!" Lucy shouts. She reaches her hands to shake his shoulders. "Don't go! Don't leave!" Lucy begins to cry. "You can't…" she cries. "You can't leave me… ever again… You can't die on me again… You can't die because of me again! "

"I… I'm sorry… for being immortal, for bringing immortality to your life, and for ruining your normal life in the very beginning," Rogue says, also crying. His voice is fading like his body. He looks exactly like one of those ghosts in the movies. Clear, almost no color. His distinct ruby red eyes now look like more of a light pink color. "I tried to stop your fate of immortality by becoming immortal with Minerva…"

"Wait… what?" Lucy said, confused.

"Minerva… I overheard her talking with a man about how she was targeting you and Sting… so I went over to her and… well… she promised me that she wouldn't turn you or Sting immortal if I became her slave and did whatever she wanted," Rogue said, smiling. "But, I… I guess she was lying to me the whole time. Haha… I was tricked…"

Suddenly, the fake smile Rogue tries to put up seems to be destroyed like a wall being smashed into pieces. Tears begin to flow out of his eyes. He tries to hide his tears by covering it with his arms; however, his arms are almost completely vanished. Also, his tears, unlike his body, are not faded. They are as clear to the eye as a normal person's tears. "I… I'm so sorry…" Rogue cries. "If… If only I wasn't tricked and I was smarter… If only I-"

"IDIOT! It's not your fault…" Lucy cries. Tears running down her face even faster. "You… You were only trying to protect us! You turned immortal… for Sting and me…"

My heart feels as though it was just smashed in two. The feelings I am feeling is something I want to deny myself. I don't want to be this cruel of a person. I am jealous. I am jealous of Rogue, who is dying, just as I was jealous of Gray when he was dying. Lucy is literally on top of him, while I am just a bystander. I feel so… left out. I can't understand a thing that is happening. I can't even speak. And… I thought I was Lucy's best friend… I thought we were the closest… I thought we knew each other the best.

But now I just feel like a stranger.

I understand now. Really, I know nothing about Lucy… or Layla. I was the only one who thought we were close and best friends.

And I am the only one with these feelings… These horrible, paralyzing feelings that make me go out of control for _her_. They make me feel so deeply entranced by her… yet somehow empty and somewhat aching.

I am in love with Lucy. All of her. Even the part of her as _Layla _that I'm seeing right before my eyes. I love her.

But… I know that it is only one sided. Those royal blue eyes that look at Rogue like that… Even someone as stupid as me knows that look. It's the look of a girl in love. I just know it…

I want to cry. I just want to hide in a corner and cry. But I hide those feelings with a stoic face as I watch Lucy and Rogue talk and cry together. Why did I have to figure out these feelings? Why couldn't I just stay clueless of them? Love is a heartless jerk that makes me drive myself insane. I am stupidly in love with her.

"Layla… Remember that bottle I gave you that turned Sting back into a dragon almost permanently about five hundred years ago…? You know... that time where Sting was sinking into the shadows?" Rogue asked. Sting's eyes immediately stared at Rogue in amazement.

Lucy nodded.

"I thought that if Sting became a dragon, he could protect you and himself from becoming immortal…" Rogue said. His ruby red eyes sparkle as he cries. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry for hurting you and ruining your life-"

"You didn't ruin my life!" Lucy shouts. She tries to hug Rogue's faded body but her body only goes right through him. She makes a pained expression. Seeing that expression alone breaks my heart. "You were only trying to protect us… right?"

Rogue puts his hand which is fading away also on Lucy's cheek. "Funny," Rogue says. "Even though I can't feel anything right now, I can still feel your warmth…"

"Rogue!" Lucy cries. "Don't say that! You aren't going to die! Got that?!"

"Layla… I mean, Lucy-"

"It's ok… you can call me Layla…" Lucy cries. "I'm okay with it now... Rogue..."

"Layla… ever since I met you as a thirteen-year-old…" Rogue suddenly pauses in deep thought. He smiles weakly at Lucy. "I mean, six-year-old."

"Six… year old?" Lucy asked in confusion. I watch her tears fall out of her eyes, through Rogue's body, and onto the floor.

"I've always been watching you Layla," Rogue says in a kind voice. "I watched you cry in that secret garden everyday..." Then he makes a pained expression. "Please Layla, I want to know how you feel before I die…"

"What…? How I feel?" Lucy says.

"Ever since I was six, I… I've always loved you… even though you never noticed me watching you from the sidelines…" Rogue says, crying. "I love you Layla."

Lucy's eyes widen. When I hear this, my fist immediately clenches my heart. I already know Lucy's answer. I can just tell by the look in her eyes. Is this what it's like to be indirectly rejected? I don't even want to watch anymore. I close my eyes tightly. Little bits of tears are flowing down my eyes. My first love, and I have already been rejected. Why does love have to be so heartless? Why couldn't I choose who I wanted to fall in love with? The heart just acts on its own without the owner's consent.

**The heart is so selfish. **

"Rogue… I…" Lucy begins. I want to cover my ears. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it… at all. "Ever since I met you as an eleven-year-old, I _was_ in love with you," she says. I notice her use past tense. Why…? "But now, I have fallen in love with someone else… I'm sorry… You are one of the most important people to me... But I only see you as family now…"

My eyes widen. My body, which was so tense, suddenly relaxes. The tears that were falling out of my eyes turn into tears of happiness. I am so cruel. Rogue, who was dying, just got rejected by the girl he and I both love, and I am happy. How selfish of me. But I couldn't help it. I was just so happy.

"I see…" Rogue says. I can tell that he is hiding his rejected feelings with a smile. "Thank you, _Lucy_."

My eyes widens in surprise. Rogue called her _Lucy_. Usually, he would call her _Layla_. What did this mean? I couldn't understand it at all.

Then, Rogue's body begins to glow. His body is so bright that it is blinding. I cover my eyes. When I look at the same place where his body was lying, I notice that he is gone. Lucy stares at her empty hands. Rogue was gone.

"Oh…" Lucy says. Tears begin to stream out of her eyes faster and faster. "No… NO!" she screams. She lays on the same spot Rogue was. She hits her fist on the ground over and over again. "ROGUE! ROGUE!" she screams over and over again. "Why?!" she screams. She yells so much that her voice sounds hoarse. "Why did you have to die again… because of me…? Ro-Rogue…"

_Die again?_ I wonder what she meant by that. People can only die once so… how was that possible.

Suddenly, the whole world turns bright. Rogue's magic that put us in a new dimension had disappeared because he had died. In a blink of an eye, the scenery changes and Sting, Lucy, and I are all back in the burning school building.

Suddenly, I hear the fire around me crackle. I can hear the school building, creaking, about to collapse.

"Hurry!" I shout. "We have to run Lucy! Sting! Or we'll die here!"

I run over to the two of them. Sting seems to be acting odd. His breathing is weak and he can barely stand. Strange… Did transforming into a dragon really weaken him this much? "Sting, hold on tight okay?" I say to him. I wrap his arm around my shoulders and hold his waist to help him stand.

Then I make way to Lucy. Her ankle is still sprained from falling. I also put her arm around my shoulders and hold her waist also with my other hand; however, Lucy immediately makes me let go of her. She crawls back to the spot Rogue was lying. "Rogue… Rogue…" she keeps whispering over and over again.

Suddenly, Sting also makes me let go. He grabs my shoulders and make me stare into his royal blue eyes. "Natsu…" he says. "Remember what I told you before?"

What was he talking about? I think about what he said to me in the past. My eyes go wide from realization. I remember what he told me before he turned into the dragon, Weisslogia…

"_**Natsu… Nothing lives forever… not even immortals. We all have weaknesses and… And… I am about to reveal my greatest weakness which is also my greatest strength to you."**_

I shake my head and grab Sting by the shoulders. "NO!" I scream. "I refuse to believe that! Sting! We are going to live, got that?!" Tears drip from my eyes to my chin, and splash on the floor, creating a sizzling sound. "We are going to get out of this together!"

"Natsu…" Sting says. Again, Sting is trying not to cry. I can tell. His eyes are watery. He clenches his teeth to stop the tears. "I-I don't have much time left… So please…" As he is saying this, I notice something.

My eyes and my mouth widen in shock. Half of Sting's body is already gone. The part where his legs are suppose to be are gone. He looks as though his upper torso is floating in the air. His body is disappearing into little pieces of golden lights. He is now watching his hands disappear. I notice that his expression is not fear, but happiness. Lucy doesn't notice a thing. She is probably still shocked from losing Rogue, so shocked that she can't even see or hear her surroundings.

"STING!" I shout.

"Please… Natsu," Sting says. He grasps onto my arm so hard that both my arm and his fingertips are bleeding. "Please Natsu!" he shouts so hard that his voice is going hoarse. "Save Lucy for me…"

"I won't leave you here alone Sting-"

"**PLEASE!**" Sting shouts so loud that my ear drums feel as though they are about to burst. Sting, who was usually so calm and composed, almost never yelled this loud. Sting's arms start to fade away into golden light as he speaks to me. "Please Natsu… this… this is my final wish!" he screams. His bangs are covering his eyes. "Please… save Lucy… for me…"

"But Sting-"

"LEAVE ME!"

I cringe for a second. My vision begins to get blurry due to my tears. I take a step back, and then another. Then I turn around and face my back to Sting. "Thank you so much Sting…" I say, trying to hide the sound of my tears from him. "For being my best friend… I'll never forget you."

I never get to see his expression to what I said. I don't have the time to. Quickly, I run towards Lucy and throw her around my shoulder like a sack. I don't have time get in the position to carry her in any fancy bridal style or on my back for a piggy-back-ride.

"What are you doing?!" Lucy cries. She hits my back with her weak fists. "Let me go! Let me go!"

As I run, I remember all my memories with Sting. Tears run through my eyes. Sting was always the one who I could always talk to. Whenever I smiled, he smiled. Whenever I cried, he cried. We always laughed at the weirdest things together. We always fought, but made up within minutes. He was always there for me. There wasn't a moment where I didn't feel like he wasn't there for me. Maybe he wasn't the brightest guy ever but... he would always be my best friend.

"Thank you Sting…" I whisper to myself as I run.

As I run, suddenly Lucy stops trying to struggle out of my arms. It is as if she was suddenly frozen. "Sting…" she says silently. I assume that her senses from the shock of losing Rogue are back and now she can see Sting, her brother, disappearing. Immediately, she hits my back even harder. "STING!" she screams. She turns towards me. "Natsu! We left Sting! We have to get Sting! He's disappearing! He's going to die!"

But I don't respond. I just keep running. I have to fulfill Sting's final wish. I can't let Lucy die.

"NATSU!" Lucy screams.

I could see light from the outside. Quickly, with Lucy on my shoulder, I dash outside and finally I can breathe the clear air without smoke again. I look up to see that the police, firefighters, students, and teachers are all staring at me with wide eyes and agape mouths from shock. Lucy and I must have looked terrible to them. Both of our eyes are swollen from crying and we look as dirty as trash.

I hear the school building crash behind me and with that I knew that Sting… was gone.

**-End of Chapter 22-**

Hi guys! This is my first chapter of this year! Hope you all enjoy~

School is starting again, so I'm not going to be updating as fast… Sorry… But I will try my best to update as fast as possible! Hope you guys are willing to wait and thank you for reading this chapter! Please review~

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	23. Chapter 23: Natsu

"_**Everyday, you feel like dying, yet you don't want to die… Because even us immortals are afraid of our own oblivion."**_

**Natsu Dragneel**

I try my best not to cry. I have to look strong for Lucy. What just happened just seemed like a pure blur. I could barely remember what just happened. All I can remember is seeing Sting's body disappear as I run.

The art wing of the school has now collapsed. Lucy does not say a word. All she does is calmly lay on my shoulder, where I am carrying her like a sack. She was just screaming earlier, so I am surprised that she is so calm now. I listen to her take deep breaths, as if she is trying her best not to cry.

Slowly, I walk toward the yellow caution "don't pass" tape the police officers tape outside the building earlier. Obviously, I just went against the law just to save Lucy by passing that yellow tape, but I don't think any of the police care. Every student, teacher, policeman, and firefighter just stare at me in amazement with their mouths open widely. I know why. They weren't going to rescue Lucy in the first place. They were just going to let her die because it was way too dangerous to go into the building. Yet, an _average_ student like me just went into the fire with her, alive.

I put Lucy down. "How's your ankle?" I ask, remembering how she sprained her ankle as she ran here, ignoring the stares from everyone.

"It's fine," she replies. She begins to walk normally. "Come on, let's go home."

I can hear people whispering as we walked through them. I hold Lucy's hand tightly. "It's going to be okay…" I whispered to her. "I'm here for you."

"...Okay…" Lucy replies, holding my hand even tighter. We intertwine our fingers and walk slowly. I walk slowly because I am worried about her ankle. However, she looks perfectly fine. Perhaps it is because she is immortal, she heals faster than normal human beings like me. Lucy holds my hand so tight that it hurts, but I deal with the pain. I know that she is just suffering. She needs somewhere to inflict pain to get rid of her irritation and sadness.

We ignore the stares of others and continue walking. Our clothes are so torn even people on the streets are staring at us in wonder. We probably look homeless or something, smelling like smoke and having messed up clothes. We ride the train and soon arrive back to Lucy's house.

As soon as Lucy goes in, she sits on the sofa. She makes a fist out of her tiny hands. She silently screams to herself, trying to suppress her tears. She keeps breathing in and out loudly. It is as if she is telling herself not to cry repeatedly every single breath.

"Don't hold it in Lucy," I say. "Just let it out… It's fine, no one is watching but me."

"No…" Lucy replies. "I won't cry! Sting and Rogue… they are both happy now."

_Happy_? I wonder. Now that I think about it, Lucy never told me about Rogue. Now that she got her memories back, I wonder what she is thinking. I know I am worrying too much, but I can't help it. Did she like Rogue in the past? What was she like back in those days? How many memories can she even remember, having five hundred years worth of them? And… how does she feel about me now…?

"I-I'm…" Lucy's eyes begin to tear up. "I'm happy for them… They are finally… able to rest in peace."

"What do you mean Lucy?" I ask, confused. I sit next to her on the couch. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and allow her to lean on my chest. Slowly, I could feel her salty tears soak into my uniform.

"A life of an immortal is like this: everyday, you feel like dying, yet you don't want to die," Lucy says slowly. "Because even us immortals are afraid of our own oblivion."

Lucy begins to tell me about the memories she got back, from the time she was born, to the time she came here to Japan. She tells me about the abuse she received from her decreased parents, the king and queen of the Eucliffe kingdom. She even tells me about Rogue, about how she met him and how she used to be in love with him. As she tells me more about herself, I can't help but feel pity towards her. Having such a perfect life in the beginning, and then suddenly finding out that it is all a lie. And then... to find out her true life is actually... that.

"Sting and Rogue are happy now," Lucy declares, forcing a smile. As if to reassure me... but mostly herself. "They are happy, s-so I'm happy too… Sting and Rogue are finally able to rest in peace... so why…" Her hands cover her royal blue eyes. I could see tears slipping out of her fingers. "W-Why am I crying? I-I'm suppose happy for them…"

I am not sure if I am jealous, or even irritated, but I grab Lucy by the shoulders and force her to stare into my eyes. "It's okay to cry when someone important to you passes away Luce!" I shout at her. "It's fine! It's only normal! And... I'm alive," I tell her. "I am alive, Luce!" I declare even more loudly. "And I won't leave your side… ever! As long as I am alive, I will protect you in place of Sting and Rogue! I-"

Suddenly I feel a tear drip down my cheek. No… Stop it Natsu! You can't cry in front of Lucy! She is the one that needs your support! Stop it! But the tears continue to pour, ignoring me. I can't stop them. The shock of losing my best friend, Sting, has made me like this. Why is this world so cruel? Why do the best people have to die the worst ways? Why do the people who deserve the least pain always suffer the most? Sting never deserved to become immortal and die like that. Was his only crime being born half-dragon and half-human? It wasn't like he could control such a thing!

And... Even though I didn't know Rogue, the way Lucy describes him to me tells me that he is innocent. Such an innocent person like him should have never deserved to be immortal in the first place. The whole time... he was only trying to save Lucy. By becoming immortal, he believed he was keeping Sting and Lucy from being immortal. By becoming evil, he was actually protecting Sting's and Lucy's freedom. Out of everyone, he was the one who didn't deserve that type of life at all. But... he involved himself because he loved Lucy that much...

Now that I think about it, Rogue did mention that he was a distant relative of mine back when he first attacked us.

_**"I am like you,"**_ I remember him saying._ **"I am a shadow dragon slayer, descendant of the Dragon Tribe. Which basically means I am related to you."**_

My heart suddenly tightens. Rogue... he must have loved Lucy more than I do now. How can I beat his love for her? How can my love for Lucy surpass his? I feel so insignificant against Rogue... my distant relative.

As I am thinking this, suddenly, Lucy hugs me tight as she cries. "Thanks… Natsu…" she cries. "Thank you so much! I'll… I'll rely on you."

"Yeah…" I reply, allowing my tears to flow. I hug Lucy back, tightly. We both just sit there on the sofa without a word. Both of us just cry our eyes out, together. I am still feeling insignificant compared to Rogue, but I will try my best to make Lucy happy as the alive man I am now. Maybe I will never be as good as Rogue, but I will definitely be by Lucy's side always and never leave her alone as he did. I will always be by her side, from today on and support her as her current friend.

As I cry, suddenly, I feel a pang in my head. _What is this? _I think in the beginning. _A migraine? _However, another pang of pain enters my head again. It feels as though a bullet just went through my brain. "GAK!" I cough out. I grab my head in pain. It is throbbing painfully. "ARGH!" I scream. "AH!"

"Natsu?!" Lucy cries. "What's wrong?!" she screams. She shakes my shoulders. "Hey! Natsu! Snap out of it! Natsu?! Nat…su…! Na… su... N...a..."

My sense of hearing stops. I can't see or hear anything anymore. All I hear is the ringing high eerie sound of pain and the throbbing of my head. I can't think about anything but the pain. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts so much.

It feels like I'm going to die.

What's going on?

It feels as though someone is trying to force something out of my brain, trying to pull something out. No, it's not "as though"... It _is_ something or someone trying to pull something out of my brain. But I can't wrap my mind around just what was being pulled out of my brain.

I get dizzy, it is getting hard to think. My mind feels like a pile of mush.

Slowly, I lose my consciousness.

**-End of Chapter 23- **

Hi guys! Thanks for waiting for this chapter to come out! Next chapter is coming out soon! Hope you guys enjoy it! Remember, if you ever want to see an explanation of how any of my stories started, just click on my profile!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	24. Chapter 24: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"NATSU!" I cry when suddenly, Natsu falls out of my arms and clenches onto his own head. He looks as though he is about to pull all of his hair out.

"AH! UGH!" he screams. "STOP!"

_Stop_? I wonder. What's going on? "Natsu! Calm down!" I shout. "What's wrong?! Tell me!"

I can't understand anything Natsu says. All he is screaming is gibberish. He is in deep pain and I can't do anything. All I can do is scream.

No. No. No. Please don't tell me he is dying. I look around myself. Should I dial 911 to call the hospital? I look at Natsu again. I can sense that this is no ordinary pain he is experiencing. It is magic. But what kind? I can't tell. This magic doesn't seem human. It feels like the world's magic, like a rule of the universe.

Suddenly, Natsu stops screaming and drops onto my lap, peacefully. His eyes are closed, as if he just went into deep sleep. "Na...tsu?" I say. Tears begin to form around my eyes. No way… Is he dead? No! No, please no! Anyone but Natsu! I could not lose another person. "Natsu?" I shake him. "Natsu?" I say again, shaking him harder.

I put my fingers under his nose to check if he was still breathing. I feel small puffs of air. I sigh in relief. Oh my god… Thank goodness. Thank god. He is still breathing. He is alive. He didn't die.

But… if he didn't die… what was it? Slowly, I pull Natsu's arms around my shoulders and try to drag him to my bed. If he is going to faint or something, he should at least sleep on a bed. He is actually heavier than I think. It takes me about fifteen minutes just to drag him on top of my bed. Then I take my blankets and cover his body with it.

"Get well soon Natsu," I whisper. I bring my hand to his cheek and brush my thumb on his skin. He is warm like usual. That is a relief.

Guess I'll be sleeping on the floor tonight.

**OoO**

I wake up to see that Natsu is snoring on my bed. I laugh. That is so like him. Then I pause and widen my eyes.

… Did I just laugh?

I wonder when was the last time I ever laughed ever since Gray's death. I smile to myself. I can't go on frowning forever. Neither Gray, Sting, or Rogue would have wanted that. I have to smile for them.

I walk up to the sleeping Natsu and sit next to him. At least we don't have school today since it is a Saturday, or else I would have to force him awake.

I yawn. Sleeping on the floor was really cold and hard for me to sleep. The softness of the bed seems to make me drowsy.

"Lu...ce…?" I suddenly hear before I accidently sleep. It is Natsu. He is awake!

"Natsu!" I exclaim. "Thank goodness! You're awake!"

"Where… Where am I?" Natsu says, looking around. He puts his hand on his forehead. "Ugh… I have a headache…"

"You've been asleep for almost twenty hours!" I say. "I thought you would never get up!"

"Is this… your apartment Luce?" Natsu asks. I nod as he cracks his neck. He stretches and yawns. "What was I doing before this…? I can't remember… All I can remember is this massive headache…"

Did he forget? Maybe he is just confused since he just woke up. I ruffle his salmon pink hair. "You sure are forgetful," I say laughing. "Maybe you should rest more." While he rests, I think I'll try to figure out what magic made that pain in him, causing him to scream so much.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaims. "The art wing was on fire, and then I saved you!" Suddenly, his eyes widen. "Eh? Lu-Luce… Did you just laugh?"

"Hm?" I say. "Yeah, what about it?"

Eh?! Tears instantly begin to flood out of his eyes. "Oh my gosh… Oh god… Thank god… Thank god…" he says, crying in joy. He wraps his arms around my skinny body and cries. My heart rate begins to go up. "I thought I'd never see you smile again! I thought that I'd never be able to hear your laughter ever again. Thank goodness… I… I'm so relieved…"

"Yeah…" I say, pating Natsu's head. I hope he can not hear my heart. How could I make him worry this much about me? I have to go back to my former self. I have to smile and laugh both for my friends who passed away and Natsu.

"You know," I say. "After Gray passed away, I was really upset… He was a mortal, he barely got to live his life… yet he saved me who was immortal… so I thought I murdered him by having him rescue me…"

"That's not true!" Natsu exclaims. "You were really important to Gray you know…"

"I know," I say with a smile, trying to reassure him. "And after Rogue and Sting passed away yesterday, I did cry… but… I think I'll smile instead. I can't stay depressed forever! And… Rogue and Sting wouldn't have wanted me to cry-"

"What?" Natsu says. I look at him to see that he is putting up a confused face at me.

"What's wrong?" I say.

"Rogue… and Sting…?" Natsu asks. By the look on his face, I can tell that he is very confused.

"Remember…? Rogue passed away to give me back my memories and… my brother Sting… passed away saving us by turning into a dragon…?" I say, to remind him. Perhaps his collapse earlier made him forget what just happened. I wonder if this will shock him.

"What are you talking about?" he asks me.

I raise an eyebrow. "You really forgot?" I say. "Sting, your best friend and my brother, passed away yesterday…"

"Who are you talking about? The only best friend I ever had was you Luce. Besides, I'm pretty sure I would remember someone with such a weird name like Sting. Don't make up weird stories Luce!" Natsu says, laughing.

"W-Wait what?" I say.

"Who in the world is this Sting anyway? And this Rogue guy you're talking about. Is this a story you are writing for English class?" Natsu asks.

I can feel a lump in my throat, not allowing me to speak. I can't say a word. Is Natsu just kidding with me right now? "W-What…?" I manage to squeak out.

_**"Who is Sting?"** _he says.

**-End of Chapter 24-**

Hi guys! This cliffhanger is really bad… Sorry guys! But don't worry! Next chapter is coming soon! I learned to manage my time more, so I will try my best to go back to my original updating schedule (every one to two weeks)! Thank you so much for reading and please review! I love reading your comments!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	25. Chapter 25: Lucy

_**"I-I'm scared… No matter how much I want to die, I don't want you to forget me…"**_

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"W-What do you mean by '_Who is Sting'_?" I say, my voice shaking. "I-Isn't he your best friend?"

"My best friend?" Natsu asks. "Isn't that you?"

I open my mouth to say something, but words won't come out. Wasn't he the one that said that he would never forget Sting just yesterday?! How could he just forget him just like… that.

"Luce?" he says with a confused look.

My eyes begin to tear up. "You… Did you really forget…? Or are you just messing around with me…"

"What are you talking about Luce?" Natsu says, grinning. Suddenly, he sees my tears and gasps. "Wait Luce?!" he shouts. He grabs onto both of my shoulders and shakes me. "Why are you crying?! Did I do something wrong? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

I just cry and don't say another word. That magic that made him get that massive headache that even made him lose consciousness. Could that be the reason why he forgot about Sting and Rogue…? But why? Why would someone or _something_ make him forget about them?

"I-I'm okay Natsu…" I say softly. "I-I just need some fresh air! That's all!"

"O-Oh, um… okay…" Natsu replies, obviously not convinced. "I'll take you out. We have to buy new uniforms at the uniform store anyway. Ours are all ripped up by-" Suddenly, he stops. He knocks his forehead, as if he is trying to remember. "By… By what..?" he says. "T-The fire? Wait, how was the fire in the art wing ignited anyway…? Ugh… I don't remember…"

My heart seems to drop when I hear him try to remember. I want to scream that it was Rogue, but my mouth is shut, as if some kind of glue stuck it together. Why did _whatever it was _take his memories? But that magic didn't belong to a human. I could sense it. It was Earthland's magic.

But why would the world cast magic on Natsu? Unless... it wasn't just Natsu. It could've been the alteration of the whole school or anyone who had contact with Rogue and Sting.

"Luce?" Natsu asks. "Hello? Earth to Luce. Stop daydreaming!"

"Ah!" I scream. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't even notice Natsu calling me, or more like his face is too close. It makes my heart beat way too much.

I put my hand between his face and mine to hide my blushing face. "Um... S-Sorry about that... Anyway, what is it Natsu?"

"I was wondering where you wanted to go," he says brushing his pink hair with his hands. "Cause' you said that you wanted to go for a walk-"

"The school!" I interrupt. Since Natsu just woke up, there was no doubt that the other people at our school just got up too. I have to go check. I need to see if everyone's memories were altered as well.

"Um... You're that enthusiastic for school Luce?" Natsu asks with a questioning face. "We just came from school yesterday!"

I nod. I have to go there. I must.

"Uhm... Okay, let's go."

Quickly, we both got dressed. I let Natsu borrow some of Gray's old clothes since his were all burned up. The house I am living in is Gray's true house after all. My house got burned down by Rogue a couple of months ago...

Then, quickly, we run to the train station and take the train to Fairy Hills, where Fairy High is. We sit on the train for a few minutes and get off. Immediately, I run towards the school.

"Luce!" Natsu shouts while panting. "What is the rush?!"

I ignore Natsu. I am too busy running to notice that he is calling me over and over. As I get closer and closer to the school, I can hear loud noises of chatting. When I finally reach the school, my legs seem to lose all strength. They seem to be glued onto the ground and heavy as lead. I pant and place my hands on my tired legs. "Whew…" I say as I look up to see the school. Suddenly, my breath stops and I gasp. I can only stare at what is going on.

Everywhere, around the school, are helicopters and news reporters. On the ground were the students and staff, all of them rubbing their foreheads and eyes, as if they all just woke up from a long nap, just as Natsu did earlier.

"An odd phenomenon!" a reporter nearby cries. "A mysterious fire erupted from the art wing of this school and minutes later, every student and staff collapse! What could have caused this?"

"Woah, what the heck...?" Natsu says, his eyes widen. "What's going on here?"

Suddenly, the reporter comes up to Natsu and shoves the microphone into his face. "Excuse me!" he said. "You are a student here, aren't you? How do you feel to come back to school to see that everyone has collapse?!"

"That's strange..." Natsu says, talking to himself. "I also collapsed also at Luce's house..."

"So you also collapsed despite the fact you weren't on school grounds?" the reporter asks, writing notes.

I had to stop Natsu. It's obvious that he doesn't know that the reason why everyone collapsed wasn't because of the fire. It was because of magic.

"Yeah," Natsu begins. "I also-"

Quickly, thinking fast, I jabbed Natsu in the stomach to stop him from giving too much information about himself to the reporter. "I think the reason why he collapsed was to save me, Sir," I interrupt. "During the fire, I was caught in the building and he came to save me. He may have breathed too much smoke, which caused him to faint when we got into my house."

The reporter begins to write that down. I gulp. I hope what I said was convincing. It would be bad if they thought Natsu fainted for other reasons.

"Thank you so much," the reporter says. "We will leave the rest to the investigators." And with that, he left.

"Natsu, let's go," I say. "We're done here."

"What?" Natsu says, confused. "But we've only been here for a couple minutes! Shouldn't we go ask our friends whether or not they are okay-"

"My friends hate me now remember..." I say reluctantly. I don't want to think about Erza or Juvia right now… Remembering how happy I was while hanging out with them before the incident with Gray makes me… just really upset, I guess. "Besides, I have something important to tell you."

Natsu raises an eyebrow. "Okay?"

**OoO**

We walk over to the park. There is no one here due to the loud commotion over at my school. We sit on one of the wooden benches in silence. I don't know how to start the conversation.

"Luce... You know something about how everyone collapsed, don't you?" Natsu suddenly says.

"Y-Yeah," I reply. I have made a hypothesis on what had happened and I'm almost sure that I am right.

"Natsu, you don't remember who Sting and Rogue were right?" I say to confirm.

"Yeah, I don't," Natsu replies. "I don't know anyone with such strange names." Natsu laughs as if he is making a joke, but then his smile quivers into a frown. He grasps his hands together and puts his head down. I've known him long enough to know that is his habit when he is in mental pain.

"I don't know why but I feel like I'm missing someone... Someone really important to me," he mumbles, his voice shaking. "It's the weirdest thing… haha… I just don't know why…" My heart immediately squeezes. I know he is talking about Sting, his best friend.

"It's Sting," I state in a slightly irritated voice. "It's Sting you idiot!"

Natsu jolts and looks at me strangely. "H-Huh?" he says, surprised. "Look Luce, I said this many times! I really don't know anyone named-"

"Wait!" I say loudly. If Natsu saw a picture of Sting he would definitely remember! I take out my mobile phone to find a picture of Sting. As the past president of the **Prince Natsu Fan Club**, there had to be at least one or two pictures of Sting with him on my phone since they were always together. I scroll down all my pictures in the _Natsu _folder and finally found one. It is a picture of Natsu eating a rice ball messily while Sting laughs.

"Here!" I say loudly. "Look at the blond person next to you!" I shove my phone right in front of his face so he can get a better look. "Recognize him?"

"Woah!" Natsu says. "What's with this ugly picture of me?! Delete it!"

"No!" I shout. "Look at the guy next to you!"

"What guy? I only see me," Natsu says, confused.

"Wait what?" I turn my phone around and look at the picture again. I definitely see Sting in the picture. I show my phone to Natsu again and point directly at Sting. "Look! This is Sting, my twin brother!"

"Luce, are you crazy or just hallucinating?" Natsu says. "There's no one there! Just a blank space."

What? Why would he just see a blank space? Sting was definitely there. "Y-You… really forgot everything…" I say quietly. I can't believe it. I couldn't believe _him. _He promised Sting that he would never forget him… yet he forgot him anyway. So easily. I begin to get mad. Irritation builds up in me and I can't contain it anymore. "HOW COULD YOU FORGOT HIM?! HE WAS-"

"Woah!" Natsu says, holding onto my shoulder. "Why are you so mad? Do you have a fever Luce?"

"BUT STING WAS-" I immediately stop myself. What was I doing? This wasn't Natsu fault. In fact, he was just a victim. "I-I…" I cover my eyes with my hands. I'm terrible. I insulted Natsu like that… It wasn't even his fault. "I'm sorry… It's not your fault… Forgive me Natsu..."

"What? Um... I forgive you, but I don't understand a word you are saying," Natsu says. "Look Luce, please explain yourself to me."

"Whenever Sting is in a picture, all you see is a blank space… and you don't remember him either," I say. How can I make Natsu recognize Sting's existence. "I know!" I suddenly exclaim. "Take out your phone Natsu!"

"W-What? Sure, but why?" Natsu takes out his phone, swipes his password and gives me his phone. Immediately, I search for his football team's group pictures. After a few minutes, I finally land myself on one.

"Found one!" I exclaim. In the picture were rows of football players, and in the middle on the third row was Sting. If Natsu really did see a blank space where Sting was, it would be odd since group pictures were crowded. No group picture would have a random gap between two people. "Look," I say, pointing at Sting. "Do you happen to see a blank space here?"

"Yeah… I do," Natsu says. "That's strange. I don't remember ever seeing a blank space there in that picture-"

"It's Sting," I say. "I can see him, but you can't."

"You must be hallucinating, Luce. That's impossible-"

"With magic, nothing is impossible," I interrupt.

"M-Magic?" Natsu says. "I guess that's true-"

"Remember how I lost my memories of my past immortal self, Natsu?" I ask.

"Yeah I do," Natsu says. He cracks his neck and sighs. "What's with this questioning, Luce? Just get to the point already."

"Do you remember how I lost my memories?" I ask.

"Sure I do!" Natsu says, as if it is obvious. "Your memories were taken by-" He suddenly pauses. "By… By… who…?" He rubs his forehead, trying to remember. "Who…" he says over and over again. "Argh!" he screams. "I can't think!"

"It was Rogue…" I say.

"What…?" Natsu says. "You said that name before. Who is that?"

"Okay… I think my hypothesis is true then…" I say. I look into Natsu's jet black eyes. "The universe has altered everyone related to Sting and Rogue and your memories."

"W-What?" he says.

"Rogue and Sting were immortal beings… just like me," I explain. "We aren't suppose to be in this timeline, so naturally once we die, everyone in the same generation will completely forget about us."

"What are you saying?" Natsu says. "I would never forget about you, whether you are immortal or not!"

I cringe at what he just said. _Never forget about me_… "It is the rule of the universe, Natsu. The world must be balanced. People who are immortal are forgotten once they die by mortals, like you. There... There is no avoiding it."

"Wait, what…? How is that the rule of the universe? I don't see the use in it-"

"Us immortals don't exist in this era Natsu!" I shout loudly. Without knowing, tears began to run down my eyes. "W-We aren't suppose to be alive in the first place. Like me Natsu! I've been alive for so long that I don't even remember my age! The world wants to erase our existence! A-And… if I die in your time, even you will forget about me…"

"Luce…" Natsu says. He hugs me tight, putting my forehead against his chest. He pats my blond hair and combs it through his fingers. His touch is so gentle that my heart throbs ache. "I understand now… okay? I know that Luce would never lie to me…"

"N-Natsu…" I cry into his shirt. My hands wrap his shirt into my fists. "I'm scared…"

Natsu gently pats my back. His touch is so comforting… If Natsu forgot about my existence… What would happen to me? I don't want Natsu to forget about me. Natsu is my everything. I _love _him. When I die, I still want him to at least remember that I made an impact in his life… or even that I _existed_. Once he forgets me, I'll become _nothing_. My existence would have had no impact in the world at all.

"Luce…" Natsu says, trying to comfort me.

"I-I'm scared… No matter how much I want to die, I don't want you to forget me…" I am screaming but my screams are muffled by his shirt. "I don't want you to forget me, b-because…" I can't control my mouth. It just keeps running on its own. It's saying things I swore not to tell Natsu. My heart is beating uncontrollably and I can't control what I'm doing. I wrap my arms around Natsu and hug him tight. My face is still buried in his warm chest.

"B-Because Natsu, I… I love you."

**\- End of Chapter 25** -

Hello! Sorry for the late update! I am trying my best to keep up with my schedule! Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day! I love you guys so much! Thank you for always supporting me and being patient about my updates!

~ **_Metallic Snow_**


	26. Chapter 26: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

My heart just seems to stop. My arms around Lucy are shaking and my heart is pounding hard. Did… Did Lucy just… confess her love to me? To _me_? My head seems to be spinning round and round, making me dizzy. The pounding of my heart is so hard that it hurts.

"W-Wah… Ah… Er…" I open my mouth but all that comes out is gibberish. All of this information is too much for me to handle.

Lucy looks down and releases herself from my embrace. Her face is flushed. She tucks her angelic blond hair behind her ear and stares at the ground. "But… of course you wouldn't feel the same about me right…? I mean, I'm immortal and older than even your grandmother…" She looks at me and tries to force a laugh. Oh my gosh… I feel my heart beat again. That laugh that sounds like the silver bells that jingle in Christmas time.

"I guess I'm what the modern people call an old hag!" she exclaims, trying to get by with a joke. "I-I'm sorry… I never meant to tell you about my feelings… it… it just slipped out-"

"No!" I shout loudly. "Luce, that's not it!" I hold her cheek gently and push it lightly to face towards me. Her skin is smooth, like a baby's, and her new royal blue eyes seem to pierce through me. "I… I uh…" Whenever she looks at me with those eyes, I can't act like the straightforward self I always am. Usually, whatever I do works out, but in front of her, everything is messed up. Nothing goes as plan.

"W-What's wrong…? Natsu?" she says, tilting her head slightly.

My heart thumps again. I can feel blood rush into my cheeks. Her eyes look up at me like a newborn fawn and her royal blue eyes really match her complexion… Whenever she does that it's just so damn cute.

"Luce… I really don't care about your age! Whether you are seventeen or even centuries of years old…" I say. "I know that someday, I will die before you because I am only a mere mortal, but even so… even so, I still have these feelings for you."

"N-Natsu?" Lucy says.

"Luce, listen," I say. "I also lov-"

"Natsu!" a familiar voice suddenly interrupts me.

Quickly, I let go of Lucy's cheek and turn around to see that Lisanna and her best friend Minerva are behind us. "Li-Lisanna!" I say, stuttering. Well, I just got caught in an awkward moment… I try to force a laugh to make myself less awkward. "Ahaha… What are you doing here?"

"Taking a walk," Lisanna says. "What cha' doing, Natsu?" She sits in between Lucy and me, despite there being barely any room between us, and gives me one of her bright innocent smiles. She hooks her arm with mine and rests her head on my shoulder, making me feel awkward. I think she's acting a lot more… er… _touchy _than usual.

"Uh… I was just chatting, that's all," I say, trying to steal glances at Lucy, but Lisanna's face is in the way.

"Oh yeah!" I say. "By the way Lisanna! Did you also collapse earlier?"

"Hm..?" Lisanna says. "Yeah, I did. It was weird, I got all dizzy and got a headache too! Then I fainted along with the other people. The investigators said it was due to the exposure of too much smoke from the fire earlier though."

"N-No way…" I suddenly hear Lucy say.

"What's wrong Luce?" I ask, turning my head to look at Lucy. Eh? She looks afraid…? Why? There's nothing to be afraid of. It is just Lisanna and Minerva. We are all in the same math class.

"You… You're that Minerva!" she screams, pointing at Minerva. "Minerva Orlando!"

Minerva smirks and laughs. Then she looks at Lisanna with a smile. "Let's go Lisanna," she says. "We have _work_ to do."

"Aw…" Lisanna says, pouting. "Oh well, see you later Natsu!" Then she jumps off of the bench and follows Minerva.

I look at Lucy. For some reason she keeps staring at Minerva. Her eyes are wide, like she just saw a deadly ghost. She breaths in and out, loudly. "No… No way!" she says in between breaths. I can hear the fear in her voice. "Minerva… that's… she's…" She seems so scared that she can't even complete her sentences.

"What's wrong Luce?" I say. I pat her back worriedly. She looks extremely pale and frightened. "You look like you just saw a ghost! You okay?"

"Natsu… remember how I told you about how Rogue, Sting, and I were made immortal and were enslaved for hundreds of years by a certain woman?" she says.

Again… She is talking about the two guys I don't know or remember. Who is this Rogue guy especially…? The way she always talks about him sounds like a girl in love or something. Apparently Sting is her twin brother, so I don't have to worry or be jealous whenever she talks about him.

"I don't remember anything about Rogue and Sting, but I do remember _you_ telling me that you were enslaved," I reply.

"That's her," she says. "Minerva… Minerva Orlando! I remember now… Four-hundred-years ago! She was the one who made me immortal! She was the one who gave suffering to Rogue! And the one Sting wanted to avenge Rogue and me for!" Tears appear on her eyes.

Wait a second… Minerva was Lisanna's best friend. She transferred to Fairy High during my freshmen year, just like Lucy did… That's strange… Lucy's thinking seems to be accurate. The timeline seems to be right at least.

"Wait a second, Luce!" I shout. "What about Lisanna?!" Lisanna grew up with me. I remember her when we were in preschool and everything together. So there is no way she is immortal like Lucy or Minerva. So… why is Minerva with Lisanna?

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes flare up in fear. She looks at me, frightened. "N-Natsu! I think Lisanna is in danger!" she exclaims. "We need to save her!"

No way… Lisanna? In danger?! I gulp. What should I do? To me, Lisanna is just a pestering childhood friend who likes hugging me randomly for some reason, but when I hear that she is in danger, I am worried. Even though Lisanna is an annoying brat, she is still my special childhood friend. I have to save her. Minerva, an immortal person with only one weak spot… How am I suppose to find that weak spot? In order to save her, I have to find it...

"Natsu! Hurry! We have to chase after them!" Lucy shouts, her eyes full of tears maybe from fear and shock. "Minerva… she… She might be targeting Lisanna as her next immortal slave!"

"Tsk," I say. "Damn it!" Lucy and I begin to run towards Minerva and Lisanna. I have to get there as fast as I can. I can't allow Lisanna to become immortal. By seeing how much Lucy suffers daily, I can't allow another person important to me experience the same.

"Wait a moment, Natsu," a familiar voice behind me says.

That voice… It can't be. I stop in my tracks and slowly turn around. I gasp at who I see. That dark blue hair and those brown eyes that resemble my mother Grandine so much. I haven't seen her for years. It is her! My precious younger twin sister…

"Wendy!" I exclaim.

**\- End of Chapter 26 -**

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	27. Chapter 27: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"Wendy!" Natsu shouts. Immediately, his eyes fill with tears as he runs towards the girl, shouting her name over and over again. The two of them embrace each other tightly, crying into each other's shoulders.

"N-Natsu… I missed you," the blue haired girl whispers. "It's been too long…"

"Me too," Natsu replies. "I missed you too…"

I suddenly feel like a pain in my chest. The way Natsu is reacting to this girl is… odd. Could this girl be… his girlfriend? I gulp. No way… I look closely at the blue haired girl. She has the most beautiful hair and hazel eyes.

Eh? Suddenly, my eyes widen. "Oh my god…" I say out loud. "Y-You're Wendy Marvell! The singer!" I scream. Wendy Marvell, one of the most famous young singers. I couldn't believe it. Here she was, right in front of me. But… What is she doing with Natsu? What does Natsu have in relation to her? Don't tell me, the reason why he didn't reply to my confession was because he was in a secret relationship with _the _famous singer _Wendy Marvell_?

"Hello," she says with a smile. "You might know me as Wendy Marvell, but my real name is Wendy Dragneel, Natsu's younger twin sister. Marvell is just a stage name." She sticks out her hand to me. "You must be Lucy Heartfilia, right?"

I take her hand, shaking. How stupid of me to think that she was his girlfriend. Of course she is his twin! They even have similar facial characteristics! "Y-Yes!" I say, almost yelling due to my nervousness. I was always a fan of Wendy's music. Her voice is absolutely beautiful. Wait a second… how did she know my name? "H-How did you know my name, Wendy?"

Wendy chuckles for a bit. "Well, my pink twin here talks about you non-stop on the phone all the time, so I could tell once I saw you."

Natsu? Talks about me? My face goes red in embarrassment. What does he even talk about? I look over at Natsu to see that he is covering his face with his arm.

"My hair is salmon! Not pink, Wendy!" he shouts. "And I don't talk about Luce _that _much…"

"Liar," Wendy sneers. "Practically ninety percent of our conversations are about how much you love-"

"Shut up!" Natsu suddenly yells. He grumbles as he stares at the ground.

Suddenly, I realize something. "Shoot! We lost Minerva!" I shout. I am about to run towards where we lost her, but Wendy stops me.

"Relax," Wendy says. "We still have time." Then she turns to Natsu. "Natsu, I'm sure you found out about your magic as well."

"We don't have time!" Natsu screams. "I have to save Lisanna-" Suddenly, he stops in the middle of his sentence. "Wait," he says. "You have magic too, Wendy?"

"Yeah, wind dragon slayer magic," Wendy replies. "I found out doing a photo shoot last week. I fell down a building and survived by this weird collection of wind that blew under me, making cushion."

"I see…" Natsu says. "Wait, why can't we chase after Minerva-"

"Minerva is strong Natsu," Wendy interrupts. "If we just recklessly went there and fought her, we would die for sure, idiot."

I look at Wendy and Natsu. I didn't know Natsu had a twin sister. "You never told me you had a twin too Natsu…" I say as I stare at Wendy. "And your sister is a idol to top that off!"

Natsu scratches his head. "Sorry… Guess I never got the chance to tell you…" I know Natsu is feeling uncomfortable because I said _you had a twin too_ which meant I was referring to how I also had a twin, Sting, who he didn't remember. Natsu does acknowledge his existence, but he is still a bit confused. Now that I think about it, Wendy mentioned that Natsu talks on the phone with her a lot. There is no way he wouldn't strike up a conversation about Sting. Maybe Wendy might remember!

"Wendy! Has Natsu ever talked to you about a guy named Sting?" I ask, so nervous that I spoke a bit too fast. _Please… Please tell me he did..._

"Sorry, never heard of him…" Wendy replies. "Why?"

Immediately, I am crushed. I gulp. "T-Then, did you collapse yesterday? Maybe from a headache?" I ask. _Please say yes… This is my last hope._

Wendy's eyes widen. "Yeah… I did, how did you know?"

I knew it. I already knew it, so why did I ask. By her headache, I could tell that Natsu had told Wendy about Sting, but she had forgotten about it also. I just wanted at least one person to remember Rogue or my precious twin Sting. But… no one remembers. Only me. I feel like crying, but I can't cry. Not in front of Natsu and Wendy.

"So the world really is trying to keep the balance of life…" I accidentally say aloud.

"Can you tell me about this man, Sting?" Wendy asks.

I look at her and then at Natsu. Natsu is staring at the ground, probably upset that he can't remember who Sting or Rogue are. Maybe I should refrain from talking about them in front of him after this.

"Sure," I reply to Wendy. I explain to her everything that happened up to when Natsu first used his magic to meeting her. I also tell her a bit about my memories and how Minerva is related to them. Talking about Sting, Gray, and Rogue is hard however.

After explaining, Wendy looks at me with those pitiful eyes. "O-Oh… I'm sorry… about what happened," she says softly. "You lost so many close people in such a short amount of time."

"It's okay now," I say, smiling at her to relieve her a bit. Sting, my brother, and Rogue wouldn't want to see me cry. I have to keep smiling, for Natsu too. I don't want Natsu to be troubled because of me anymore.

"If we want to defeat Minerva, we are going to have to make a plan," Wendy says. "She seems to be a strong person, and if Natsu and I aren't careful, we may become immortalized also."

Wendy is right. We need a plan. I am not going to fight her without one this time. If I just run into her and fight, I wouldn't know what to expect… And I absolutely can not allow Natsu or Wendy to die or become immortalized. I have to allow them to live normal human lifespans… I don't want anymore people to suffer what I have to as an immortal.

"Wendy, you have to train your wind magic," I say. "You just discovered it last week, right?" Then I face Natsu. "And… you and I are going to do some physical training, like running and strengthening ourselves while Wendy trains her magic. When we are ready, we will attack Minerva-"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME," Natsu suddenly interrupts me. I look at his face to see tears streaming down his cheeks. "Li-Lisanna… If anything were to happen to her… I can't allow it! We have to act now!" Natsu stands up and faces face to face towards me, glaring so hard that my heart beats in fear. Why… is he so mad at me? I'm just trying to keep him safe...

"MINERVA MAY DO SOMETHING ANY MINUTE! WE NEVER KNOW… SHE… She might even be doing something to Lisanna as we speak… Right now we are merely just wasting time! We have to save her… now…" Natsu says, his fists clenched so tight that they are bleeding.

When I hear how worried Natsu is about Lisanna, my heart begins to ache. Well, he does love Lisanna after all. She would always be his top priority… unlike me. But… why would Minerva be targeting _Lisanna_ of all people? She has no power whatsoever, and she is just an average human.

Now that I think about it, Minerva's magic is manipulating space… And she had accidentally mentioned once that her weakness was a certain part of her body. But… I wonder why she ordered Rogue to steal _my _memories. I mean, why didn't she steal Sting's instead (not that I wanted her to steal Sting's memories)?

She stole my memories because she apparently didn't want me to use my magic, right? But I had used my magic against her many times… Was it to save someone else then? Is my magic another immortal's weakness? It couldn't be Minerva's weakness… so does that mean, Minerva is trying to protect someone else?

"Oh… my gosh…" I say to myself. That had to be it. But it couldn't be my celestial magic because each of my spirits use a different magic power. Then it could only mean one thing. It had to be that hidden star magic that I have been hiding since birth. Somehow, Minerva _must _have heard about it.

"What's wrong Lucy?" Wendy asks.

"N-Nothing," I say. Until I am sure, I won't share my ideas. "Anyway, we should start training. We will train for a week and then fight." I look at Natsu who is still standing, glaring at me. He has never glared at me like this before… He looks so… scary, yet afraid. I know he is just worried about Lisanna, but… even so I am still jealous. But I can't allow him to fight now. That would be reckless and a stupid decision. Doing that would be like asking him to be immortal or die, depending on what Minerva wants to do.

"I know we have to protect Lisanna, Natsu. But we cannot just go fight her recklessly," I try to explain to him, calming him down. I put my hand on his shoulder. "So please, Natsu, cooperate with us-"

"LIKE HELL I AM!" Natsu screams. He pushes my hand off of his shoulder and immediately runs off towards the direction Minerva walked away.

"NATSU?!" Wendy exclaims, eyes wide.

"NATSU! STOP" I scream.

**\- End of Chapter 27 -**

Hello, sorry for this boring filler chapter! The next chapter will have more action, I promise. And I know that Natsu seems to be acting odd in this chapter. His feelings about this will be revealed by the next chapter! Until then, please wait for the next chapter and thank you for reading this chapter too!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	28. Chapter 28: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Are they crazy? Right now, Lisanna is in trouble and all Wendy and Lucy are doing is talking about worthless stuff. Honestly I have no idea where Minerva is, but my sensitive nose can smell Lisanna's scent. As I follow her scent, I can hear Lucy and Wendy yelling behind me.

"Natsu, stop!" Wendy cries.

"You're being reckless, Natsu!" Lucy screams. "Minerva isn't a normal human!"

But I ignore them. So what if Minerva is actually some kind of magic maniac? What is the most important thing right now is that I save Lisanna… She can't even use magic! She's just a normal mortal! I don't want her to suffer the way Lucy does with her immortality. I don't want people important to me to suffer any longer. Like, forgetting that person named Sting… If he is watching me from heaven and somewhere, he must be really hurt that I forgot everything about him… So I can't let Lisanna suffer that way too…

Huh? Her scent is getting stronger! That means I am close!

I run faster in worry as I look at my surroundings. It seems like we are close to some kind of grassy meadow… but were there any grassy meadows in this city…? That's odd. I don't remember any meadows around here, even though I lived here all my life.

"This meadow…" Lucy says behind me. I look at her to see that her eyes are widened. Her facial expression shows fear, as if she just recalled something terrible.

"What's wrong…? Lucy?" Wendy says.

"This meadow, i-it's the same one where I saw Rogue after many centuries of being apart-" Suddenly, she stops in the middle of her sentence and begins to run to me. "WATCH OUT!" she screams out of nowhere.

She grabs me and pushes me towards the ground with a thud. I close my eyes due to my instincts. "Ow…" I grumble when I hit the ground with Lucy on top of me. I open my eyes slowly to see a bright light above me. "H-Huh?" I say. What is this ominous bright light? My senses can only feel disgust. In curiosity, I try to get up to touch the light.

"STAY DOWN!" Lucy screams to me, stopping my hand from touching the light. "IF YOU EVEN TOUCH THAT LIGHT EVEN A BIT, YOU'LL BE LIKE ME!"

W-What? What's going on? I can't understand a thing. After a few more seconds, the light subsides. Lucy gets off me and looks at her right, glaring. I look to the right to see who she is glaring at.

"Minerva," Lucy says.

It was her, of course. But still… what was that light?

"Hello, Lucy," Minerva replies.

Lucy's eyes widen in anger at her. Her tiny hands fist up. "What are you planning?" she says angrily.

Minerva cracks her neck and shrugs. She extends her arm as a blue light explodes from it. Dirt tracks everywhere. When the dirt stops flying around, I see a white haired girl in a tiny glass bubble next to Minerva. She is pounding the glass over and over again.

"LISANNA!" I scream.

"Natsu!" Lisanna cries.

What the hell is she doing in a bubble? I am about to run up to the bubble to set her free, but then Wendy grabs me by the shoulder.

"I can sense an odd magic from that bubble, Natsu…" she says. "It's certainly Lisanna in that bubble, but if you touch that bubble, you'll be paralyzed for much time… Let Lucy deal with this.

Wendy is right… Now that I sense the glass bubble carefully, it has a weird presence. If I want to save Lisanna, I have to make sure I don't get near that bubble. For now, I'm glad she is safe inside that glass.

"I understand Wendy," I say. "But I can't just let Lucy deal with this…"

"Natsu! Help!" Lisanna screams. She turns to Minerva. "What's going on Minerva?! What's with you? Is this a joke? Let me out!"

"Calm down, Lisanna," Lucy says with a slight tone of annoyance. She keeps looking at her, as if she is scanning her.

**"Lisanna Straus,"** Lucy suddenly says in a robotic tone of voice. **"A girl from Fairy High. Likes: eatting, shopping, makeup, food, stalking Natsu. Hates: her body fat, Natsu's fangirls, seafood, Lucy Heartfilia. Person of interest: Natsu Dragneel. Magic: none."**

Suddenly, Lisanna's face goes red. "What the hell?!" she screams. "Heartfilia, are you mocking me?!"

"I was just scanning your simple background to see if you were an accomplice of Minerva," Lucy says, back in her usual tone of voice. "Looks like you are innocent."

Wait… Scanning? I didn't know Lucy could do that. Maybe she has a lot more types of magic than I thought she did. Wait a second… if she is accurate, that means… Lisanna likes me?! What? I never knew…

Lisanna's face is bright red. "Ugh! Heartfilia, what the hell?! You are such a jerk-"

"Please calm down Lisanna," Lucy says. "If you want to be saved, you must stay quiet."

"Saved?" Lisanna asks as if she takes everything as a joke. "You guys are just playing around with me, right?"

"Minerva isn't your friend, Lisanna. She's barely even human anymore," Lucy replies, trying to convince Lisanna.

Minerva smirks. "Looks like my plan worked," she says simply as she laughs like everything that is happening is a joke.

"W-What plan?" I say. I can feel my body shake, afraid. I don't know why, but Minerva's presence gives me the shivers. Her magic is so strong that I can sense it even though I am far away from her. I am surprised that Lucy is still standing strong. She isn't shaking even a bit.

Minerva suddenly points at me. "You can relax. I don't plan to hurt your childhood friend," she says, releasing Lisanna from the glass bubble. Immediately, Lisanna runs towards me and hides behind my back. "I used Lisanna as a bait so you, Natsu Dragneel, would run into this world I created," Minerva says. "I will make you immortal, just like your little lover, Lucy Heartfilia. You two will be my slaves."

"I won't let you, jerk!" Lucy cries. Although her voice sounds strong, she is actually shaking really bad. I could tell that just by looking at Minerva, she is scared.

"W-What?" I say, my voice quivering.

"Immortal?" Lisanna says. "What is she talking about, Natsu?"

"Well, it looks like you brought another magician into my world," Minerva laughs. She looks at my sister, Wendy. "You are the singer, Wendy Marvell, correct?"

"H-Huh?" Wendy says. I can tell that she is also shaking. "W-What... H-How did you know-"

"It's obvious, you're always over the news in this modern world. You know what? I'll take your life too," Minerva says, trying to hold her laughter. "You're already here anyway so." She sticks out her hand and begins to absorb the light around her as she chants her spell. "Immortal… Slave-"

"OPEN! GATE OF THE SCORPION!" another voice interrupts her. A bright light surrounds her. A huge explosion erupts as dust collects everywhere. As the dust subsides, I see Lucy, standing in the middle of the meadow with a gold key in her hands. Standing next to her is a man with red and white hair. He is tall and lean-built. He looks very tanned and has a large gun in the shape of a scorpion's tail. He looks confident with that smirk on his face. Who is he? Another one of Lucy's spirits?

"I won't let you!" Lucy screams. "Scorpio! Do your thing!"

Minerva twitches. She hisses at Lucy in anger.

Scorpio cracks his head. He gets down on his four limbs in a stance like a real scorpion and points his scorpion-like-tail gun at Minerva. "Sand Buster!" he shouts. A powerful sand tornado blasts towards Minerva, blasting the grass and dirt nearby along with it.

Minerva immediately sticks out her hand. "Territory," she simply says, and instantly, all the dust and dirt Scorpio collected drops on the floor.

"What the hell…" Lisanna says. "Minerva is... She... Is she human? Is Lucy human...?" I can not blame her for being confused. She has never seen magic after all.

"Tch," Lucy grumbles. She digs into her pockets and takes another golden key out.

"Wait Lucy!" Wendy exclaims. "If you summon another spirit at the same time, that would make you very weak-"

Lucy turns around, interrupting Wendy. She smiles. "Don't worry," she says in a reassuring voice. "It will be all right."

Weak…? I couldn't understand. Why would summoning another spirit make her weak? It's just like using her magic again right?

"Open… gate of the bull!" Lucy screams.

"STOP! LUCY!" Wendy cries.

"Shoot…" I hear Minerva swear silently. "Ih Ragdo!" she shouts as she creates an orb of magic.

A bright light shines from both sides, so bright that I can not see a thing.

"TAURUS! SCORPIO!" Lucy screams. Instantly, the light and dust subsides around her to reveal Scorpio using his magic on Taurus's axe as he charges, making a combo attack.

"Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran!" Taurus and Scorpio shout.

Taurus slams his axe on Minerva, but she has prepared an orb of magic. Instantly, dust flies everywhere, creating another explosion.

"Kya!" I hear a scream from Lucy.

"LUCY!" Wendy screams. Immediately, she runs towards the scene.

I want to run over to Lucy too to check up on her, but my feet seem to be pinned to the ground… afraid. Since when was I such a scaredy cat? I am usually never afraid to die. Perhaps… the reason why I am afraid to fight this time is because… I would not die in this fight… I would become immortal, like Lucy.

The thought of that scares me. It scares me so much that I can not move… How useless I am.

When the dust clears, I see Lucy, kneeling on the ground. Blood is flowing from her forehead as she coughs out blood also.

"Luce…" I say, eyes widened.

"Oh my god…" Lisanna says. "W-What's going on…? Heartfilia… is she… protecting me…? Who bullied her…?"

"W-Wait!" I say. Right after Lisanna says the word _bullied_, I instantly remembered the time Lucy got beat up by bullies. "Lisanna, _you _were the one who bullied her?"

"W-Well… She was in your way, Natsu!" Lisanna protests. "I-I… I thought I was protecting you… But… I was wrong… Lucy, she… Even though I did so many bad things to her, she is protecting me too… Could it be, that she is actually a good person…?"

"She was always a good person," I reply, a bit mad from the fact that Lisanna bullied Lucy, but she repented so I guess I'll forget about it for now. I'll scold her later after we get this fight over with.

I stare at Lucy's blood, dripping all over her body. I want to help her… so much. But my feet won't move. I am too scared.

"W-Wendy…?" Lucy says weakly.

"This is why I told you not to summon two spirits at once!" Wendy says. "Summoning two spirits is basically opening two different worlds at once-"

"I-I am okay," Lucy replies. She closes her eyes, as if to concentrate, and suddenly, all of her wounds begin to heal at a fast rate. H-How… is that possible? When I see this, I remember the fear of immortality… how inhumane it really is. Being turned immortal is like being turned into a demon.

Minerva aims her magic at Lucy. "Niel Wielg Mion Terse Elcantaeus: Yagdo Rigora," she chants.

Shoot! Lucy is still healing! She can't defend herself!

Minvera creates a powerful blast. This spell… I can sense that it is a godly magic. In high speed, it dashes towards Lucy, blowing everything in sight.

"Luce!" I shout. But I still can't move. Why am I so scared…?

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy screams. And just like my magic, out of her mouth is a hurricane of wind blasting out. Minerva's magic and hers collide with one another, creating a storm of magic. The beautiful meadow we were once in became an eerie place, not a bit pretty.

Wait a second… didn't Wendy say that she never used her magic before, besides that one time? That means that she is inexperienced in magic! She is pretty impressive for someone who used a roar for the first time.

I look at Wendy and Lucy. Wendy is panicking, not knowing what to do.

"Don't worry, Wendy," Lucy says. "I-I'm immortal… Minerva can't use fire, so she can't kill me… just leave me here and run with Natsu and Lisanna… please…"

"No!" Wendy screams. "Even if you are already healed, you still feel the pain right?!" Magic begins to flow from her. The winds collect at her feet, as if she is absorbing it… Wait, if she is a Sky Dragon Slayer, does that mean she eats wind to strengthen her magic?

She turns to Minerva and then looks at me.

When she looks at me, I know what I have to do. I breathe a few times and then take a step.

"Natsu?!" Lisanna says. "You're not seriously going to fight too right?!"

"Don't worry… You stay right here. Don't go anywhere," I say. And right after that, I run to the fight. I can't be afraid anymore. Being immortal is nothing to be afraid of. What's more frightening is seeing Lucy get beat up like this.

Lucy slowly gets up also. "Then… I'll fight with you," she says. "But you have to promise me that you won't turn immortal."

"Got it," Wendy and I say in unison as I stand next to Lucy.

Wendy runs behind us and begins to chant a spell. "Power of the stout arms that tears heaven…" she mutters as she extends one arm into the air. A blue magic circle appears around her hand. When the magic circle appears in her hand, I can feel an intense increase of my powers. I look over to Lucy to see that she is feeling the same.

"Arms!" she screams.

And then, fire erupts out of me without my consent. It is as if my power has increased so much that it can not contain in my body any longer.

"I figured it out," Wendy says. "I am more specialized in support magic, so I'll support you two from here!"

Lucy nods and turns back to Minerva. Her body is also overflowing with magic.

"Arms x Vernier… Arms x Armor…" Wendy keeps muttering. The more words she says, the stronger Lucy and I get. My sister's support magic really is strong.

I smirk. I have never felt so much power in my life. "Alright then," I say. I use my eyes to target Minerva. "Fire Dragon's…" I begin to rush towards her in great speed as I engulf my fists in flames. "Iron Fist!" Then I punch Minerva in the face. Immediately, her body is slammed back into the ground.

"Argh!" she screams.

Finally… got a hit down.

But then, her pained face turns into a smirk. "Just kidding," she says. She closes her eyes, and just like Lucy did, all of her wounds healed instantly. "Psh, that tickled. Do you really think you mortals can beat me? Too bad your only immortal is Lucy. She's so damn weak. Guess that's what you get for killing off Sting."

Ugh… why are immortals so hard to beat? They just heal again immediately. But wait... Did Minerva just mention Lucy's brother's name again? I really want to remember who this person is. Whenever I hear that name, my heart seems to tighten in regret. Why...? I don't understand.

_Every immortal has a weakness,_ I remember Lucy telling me. She did mention that Minerva's weakness was a part of her body. All I had to do was find that part of her body and hit it specifically.

"Close! Gate of the bull and scorpion," Lucy says. She swipes her golden keys and instantly, Taurus and Scorpio disappear.

"Lucy?!" I say. "What are you doing?! You're an item holder magician! You need your spirits-"

"Trust me," she says. "I'm using a different magic…" She looks at Minerva. "You," she says with a stern voice. "You asked Rogue to take my memories… but _why_?"

"Just for fun," Minerva says, laughing.

"Psh, are you stupid?" Lucy says in a mocking tone of voice. "You obviously did it for a reason. No one would go out of their way to brainwash Rogue just to take my memories _for fun_."

Minerva's face twitches, as if Lucy just hit a nerve. "I-I wasn't! It was really just for fun-"

"Was it to protect someone?" Lucy confronts. "Is my magic a weakness to someone important to you-"

"SHUT UP!" Minerva screams. "Forget it! I don't need the dragon slayers anymore! I'm killing them!"

I freeze for a second. Kill me…? I grit my teeth in anger. Does this woman know what she is saying? Human life shouldn't be played with like toys! This jerk…

"Argh…" I begin to ignite my whole body ablaze and rush towards Minerva in high speed. It is hot, but I don't care. I let my magic run wild. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" I shout, allowing more magic to flow as I run.

I can see Minerva as I charge. She is pulling out something silver out of her palm as I run. I can't really see though. I am going too fast. But I don't really care anyway, I keep on charging.

"NATSU STOP!" a familiar voice screams. It kind of sounds like Lisanna. But I ignore, continuing to charge. However, suddenly I see a body run in between myself and Minerva. I try to stop my charge, but it is too late. I hit the person hard with my flames. My vision is blurred due to my flames, but I can see a blade go through the person's body, right at the heart. Blood splatters everywhere, like how an artist would splatter red paint over his or her art.

I stop my flames and look at Minerva. Her eyes are wide and her facial expression is deafening. She is holding a long blade, probably a katana. The katana has stabbed the person who went in between us. "Oh… my god… Li… Li… I…" she mutters. None of the words she is saying makes sense. It is just gibberish. She just stares at the person in front of her. In shock, she lets go of the blade, letting the person fall onto the ground with the blade in his or her heart.

"Huh?" I wonder aloud. I look at the person's face and my mouth drops open.

No… No… It can't be. This can't be happening.

Oh no… Please… Tell me this is just a dream.

"Li… Lisanna?" I say, immediately kneeling down. Blood is flowing out of her chest. Her eyes are closed tightly as she clenches her fists and grits her teeth to keep herself from screaming from the intense pain. My hands are shaking as I try to hold her. Slowly, I put my hands on her back and hold her in my arms as she lies on the grass.

"Lisanna… say something…" I say quietly, tears falling out of my eyes. "Li- Lisanna…"

Lisanna opens her baby blue eyes and holds onto my hand. "N-Natsu-" she tries to talk but blood gushes out of her mouth.

"Lisanna! Don't talk! You'll lose blood!" I scream.

"N-Natsu…" she keeps repeating my name over and over again. "I-I'm sorry… I saw that blade she pulled out… She was going to stab your skull… so I just-" And then she coughs up blood again.

"S-Stop talking!" I scream. "Lisanna!"

She… Lisanna… Lisanna saved my life. If I continued charging, Minerva would've stabbed my skull, and that would've been instant death for any mortal. I always knew that Lisanna was a sprinter in our school's track team, so she must've used that skill to use her body to protect me. But… to me, Lisanna was always that annoying brat who would never leave me alone… like a younger sister. I never realized how important I was to her… or how important she was to me.

"I'll heal her now!" I hear a voice behind me. It is my sister, Wendy. She runs up to us as fast as she can and immediately puts her two hands on top of Lisanna's body. A blue mist begins to float from her hands.

I look at Minerva and glare at her, expecting her not to care about what just happened. But when I see her facial expression, she is scared. "Li-Lisanna…" she mutters to herself. No way... could it be that Minerva developed a soft spot for Lisanna throughout the years?

I look back at Lisanna and clutch her hand tightly. Lucy also runs by her side, despite how much Lisanna hurt her in the past. "Lisanna… why did you… You're only a mortal!" Lucy cries. She touches Lisanna's cheek gently. "A normal mortal who can't use magic shouldn't do such reckless-"

"She's losing blood too fast!" Wendy cries, interrupting Lucy. "I can't heal in time!"

No. No. No. I don't want to lose Lisanna… Not after losing Gray… Please… no more of the important people to me… Don't die… please, Lisanna.

"Heart… Heartfilia…" Lisanna says, breathing hard. Tears form under her eyes. "I… I… I'm sorry… for everything I did to you… bullying… teasing… mocking you… I was jealous of you… because to N-Natsu you were... you were his… I-I'm sorry…"

"Stop talking!" Lucy cries. "W-Why are you apologizing now?! I always forgave you!"

Lisanna smiles. "T-Thank you for… not h-hating me." She coughs up blood again. "A-And..." she turns her head to look at Minerva. To my surprise, she smiles at her, as if Minerva did nothing wrong. Slowly, she reaches her hand toward her feebly. "M-Minerva... please... I-I know you aren't like this... right? Y-You'll always be... my friend... right?"

Minerva's eyes begin to tear up. "I-I... Lisanna, you... I-"

"Minerva... to me, you'll always be my best friend... so please," Lisanna says, gently smiling. "I know that you are-" Blood begins to gush out of her mouth again. How much blood can she even lose?! No... No... I have to stop it somehow.

"Lisanna! Stop talking!" I scream, desperately. "Y-Your blood is-"

"Natsu... I…" Lisanna tightens her grip on my hand. She looks into my eyes with a smile. "Thank you so much for being by my side… even though I annoyed you so much, haha… I-I love… I love y-" Suddenly, she stops talking in the middle of her sentence. Her head turns to the side, and she stops blinking. Her eyes are just wide open, motionless… like the stained glass windows.

"Li-Lisanna…?" I say. "Lisanna?!"

I grasp her shoulders and shake her over and over again. "Lisanna?! Please! Stay something! Lisanna!"

But her eyes are just open, frozen in time.

"Lisanna… please…" I whisper. I clutch her hand tightly. "D-Don't go… please… I beg you… Lisanna…"

Another important person to me… gone…

**\- End of Chapter 28 -**

Hi guys! Thanks for reading this chapter! Not sure if this chapter's ending was predictable to you guys, but I hope it wasn't! Please tell me what you think and thank you guys so much!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	29. Chapter 29: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

Lucy puts her hand over Lisanna's eyes, biting her lip to stop herself from crying. She slowly stands up and faces Minerva.

"Minerva…!" she screams.

Minerva stands there, frozen. She doesn't say anything. All she does is stare at Lisanna's body.

"I-I… Lisanna…" she mutters. Her hands are covering her eyes that are tearing up. "I-I'm so… so sorry… I-"

"That's enough!" Lucy screams. Suddenly, the weather seems to go be get strange. In a blink of the eye, it turns dark, like night. The stars seem to shine brighter than usual.

"T-This magic…" Wendy says. "It can't be…"

Lucy stomps her right foot on the ground, creating a magic circle underneath her. She closes her eyes shut as she mutters some unusual words. Suddenly, all of the stars' lights begin to draw towards her. It is as if all of the glow is gathering at her will at her feet. She is absorbing the light out of the sky.

"No… it can't be…" Minerva stammers. "You… couldn't have discovered that magic already!"

"Show me… Oh, celestial beings of the heavens," Lucy says in a quiet voice. Her voice is so soft that it sounds like she is singing. "The weakness of each creature of the soil." When Lucy opens her eyes, her royal blue eyes has turned golden yellow. Replacing her pupils are a mass of numbers, like the codes for a computer to work.

"N-No…" Minerva says. Her eyes are widened in fear. "This can't be happening-"

"The… left side of her back… Right under her left shoulder," Lucy mutters. Immediately, all of the light she created disappears and Lucy turns back to normal. She grabs one of her golden keys and points it at Minerva. Her eyes squint in anger.

"Open, gate of the archer!" Lucy shouts. "Sagittarius!"

With a swirl of golden light, a man in a horse costume appears. In his hands, he holds a metal bow. He seems to be wearing a green suit on top of his horse costume.

"Aim right under her left shoulder, a bit more to the left. 2.35 centimeters into the bone," Lucy says.

"Yes, Mistress," Sagittarius says. Instantly, he pulls up his bow and aims at Minerva.

"N-No! Please, give me a second!" Minerva exclaims.

A shadow appears under Lucy's bangs. "A second has passed," she states.

"W-Wait! Lu-" Suddenly, she coughs up blood. My eyes widen. There is an arrow right where Lucy described earlier. It is so precise, yet the arrow shot the spot even more silent than a toothpick falling on the ground. Wendy and my eyes are wide open in shock. None of us even noticed it, except Lucy and her spirit.

Where Minerva's legs were suppose to be slowly disappears. Her whole body is starting to vanish. Her eyes widen in panic. "No… No… _No!_" Minerva screams. "I can't die yet… Gildarts will-"

But then her whole body vanishes in thin air. It is as if she wasn't there in the first place. She left the world so quick and silent. My mind couldn't even process that she had actually disappeared.

_Gildarts_… that name Minerva said. Why is that name so familiar to me…? Why…? I just can't wrap my head around it.

"I-It's finally over, huh?" Wendy mutters.

"Yeah…" Lucy replies, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. She is breathing hard to catch her breath. Suddenly, she collapses. Her body falls cold on the wet grass.

"Luce!" I shout. I run over to her. I carry her in my arms. She must have used too much magic recklessly. I should have done something to help her! Instantly, regret fills my mind. "Luce… are you all right?"

"I'm… okay, Natsu," Lucy whispers. "But… You and Wendy are going to forget all of this."

"H-Huh?" I stammer. "What?"

"You'll forget the immortal who died and everything related to her actions," Lucy explains. "There's no avoiding it." Now that I think about it, she did say this earlier today. "You'll even forget how Lisanna saved your life."

No way. I refuse to believe that. But… even I know that she is right. I forgot about the man named Sting Eucliffe… and even this person named Rogue Cheney. But, whenever I hear Sting's name, I always smile or cry, like he really made an impact in my life. Perhaps it is only the mind that forgets, not the body. After all, even though I don't know who he is anymore, his name feels oddly familiar.

Suddenly, I begin to get the similar headache I got last time at Lucy's house. "Argh!" I scream. It feels like knifes trying to stab my skull open.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaims.

"Kyah!" I hear Wendy scream next to me.

No… No… The memories are being stripped from me. I can feel it. It is as if someone's hand is reaching into my brain, ripping it apart.

"Natsu! Wendy!" Lucy shouts.

No, please God… Please, don't let me forget everything. I don't want to not know the reason why Lisanna died. I don't want to think she died in vain!

Immediately, I put my hand on Lucy's before my pain overwhelms my thoughts. "Lu-Luce… tell me… about how Lisanna saved me… okay? A-And about what happened…"

"Of course I will," Lucy replies, tears gathering in her eyes.

It was… all my fault. Lisanna's death, Lucy's fatigue… If I just decided to listen to Wendy and Lucy from the beginning, this all may have been avoided… If only I wasn't so reckless, Lisanna wouldn't have died. That annoying and clingy girl who always followed me around… She was like another younger sister to me. And her existence really reassured me. I should have paid more attention to her. I should have been paying more attention in my fight with Minerva. I shouldn't have been so reckless. Why did she have to die…? It's all my fault.

It's all my fault.

It's _all _my fault.

All I can do is regret.

I'm so sorry, Lisanna…

I'm sorry that I'll forget how you saved me in exchange for your life. I'm so sorry that my recklessness caused you to die… And thank you so much, for always being there for me since we were little… You were the best childhood friend I could ever ask for. The way you confessed to me made me really happy. It made me really happy to know that you had such romantic feelings for a jerk like me... but…

I can't return your feelings because I am still in love with an immortal being, Lucy Heartfilia. She is my everything. I'm so sorry, Lisanna.

Just before my vision closes from the intense pain in my head, I see a blurred view of my homeroom teacher, Mr. Alberona… What is he doing here?

Wait a second… His first name… isn't it _that_ name Minerva exclaimed as her last words?

**Gildarts** **Alberona**.

**\- End of Chapter 29 -**

Hi guys! I know Gildarts' real last name isn't Alberona, but it is Cana's. I wanted them to use the same last name since they were father and daughter, so I just randomly chose Cana's last name. ('^.^)

I also noticed that some of my readers were quite upset that Lisanna died. Her death is suppose to help Natsu mature into someone who thinks before his actions instead of being reckless. Sorry if some of you didn't catch that. /(=T^T=)\ It was really unclear. Hope this clears up your understanding~ \\(^0^\\)

Thank you so much for reading! Please look forward to my next chapter! (^0^)

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	30. Chapter 30: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

A man stomped his way into the meadow. My eyes widened. It was that same man I saw talking to Minerva back when she was a slave. I can't remember his name at the moment, but I know for sure that it is him.

That orange-ish brown hair.

That evil look in his eyes.

That smirk.

Last time I saw him, he was wearing a black cape. Now he is wearing a suit, but there's no doubt that it is him.

"Argh!" Wendy and Natsu scream. I can hear screams from my school also. That headache the mortals are getting to forget all relations to Minerva must feel like hell… Immediately, I stand in front of Wendy, Natsu, and Lisanna's dead body. I put my hand out, protecting them.

"You think your measly hand can protect them?" the man says, laughing. "Relax, I can't make anyone immortal. Only Minerva can, Layla Eucliffe-"

"Don't you dare call me that," I state harshly. "That name is hideous to me."

"Hm? So be it," the man says. "But you are in no condition to fight, are you? After all, you just used the rare star magic, Lucy Heartfilia."

How the hell does he even know my name? "Who the hell are you?" I exclaim, glaring at the man. "I haven't seen you for centuries…"

"You never seen me around the halls before?" the man says. "I'm Natsu Dragneel's homeroom teacher, Mr. Alberona. But Gildarts is my first name."

"W-What…?" I stammer. "Y-You? A teacher…? H-How-"

"But anyway," Gildarts says. He takes off his suit, leaving his white shirt on. "You know that I'm not here to chat, don't you?"

I glare at him. Gildarts… I have heard rumors about his magic before. The strongest mage in the universe maybe… But that strength should have a weakness since he is an immortal. But my magic is too low to use my star magic to find his weakness. That kind of magic takes almost half a gauge of magic. I need to rest.

"I know that," I say with a confident voice. But to be honest, I have no confidence. My magic is running low and my stamina is nearly depleted from battling Minerva. Dammit… I don't even have an idea about what Gildart's weakness is, or even what kind of magic he uses. I just know he is strongest mage.

Gildarts smirks at me. I gulp. I really hope he can't use fire… Or else I'll definitely die.

I close my eyes and take several breaths. Calm down. Calm down. What would Sting do if he was almost depleted of magic? Well… he would need time to regenerate it of course… He would probably fight regardless. Now that I think about it, he was able to use that legendary whip, _Fleuve d'etoiles_. He used that back when he kept it secret that he could also use magic.

But… how did he get it?

I open my eyes to look at Gildarts. With my amount of magic left, I could probably summon one last spirit. But… which spirit? I guess I should watch Gildarts' magic to see which spirit would work best against him.

Gildarts steps towards me. Every step he makes creates a large dent in the ground, making mini craters. I can feel myself shaking in fear. No… I have to calm down. I can't allow him to scare me.

"Hah!" Gildarts shouts. Suddenly, he begins to run towards me in great speed. My eyes widen as I quickly jump to the side to avoid him.

"Ikazuchi!" he yells. His fist turns white as he punches towards me. I try to squat to avoid his attack, but I am a bit too slow. His fist slightly scarring my arm.

"Ah!" I scream in pain. Just a little scrap of his fist already hurt me this much… How much would his actual whole fist hurt? I absolutely can not allow him to hit me.

Instantly, Gildarts seems to just poke my shoulder. Immediately, I feel a great pain, despite it being just a _light _poke from him. "Gah!" I scream again, blood flowing out of my mouth. All he did was poke me, and I am already feeling so much pain.

I don't have enough magic to check his weakness, and even if I did, how would I even get close enough to attack him? Knowing that if I stand back up, Gildarts would punch me back down, so I roll to the side again. Then I try to run away as fast as I can. I need to guess Gildarts' weakness. But... I only have one chance due to my low amount of magic.

"Running away already, Lucy Heartfilia?" Gildarts laughs. "Are you that weak?"

I turn around to look back at him. Dammit… if only Natsu and Wendy would wake back up…

_Layla…_

I suddenly hear a voice in my head, scaring me a bit. But… that voice is just so familiar. My heart begins to pound. It couldn't be him, right?

_Layla! Are you listening to me?_

That voice... Sting…? No way… It can't be him.

As if the voice read my mind, he replied, _Yes, it's me. Listen to me, okay?_

Wait what? Are you reading my mind?! How… How are you… Are you still alive, Sting?

_No, I'm dead. Well, I don't know why, but in this dimension you're in, somehow I am able to contact you. It might be because technically, you're dead too in a way._

Wait what? How am I dead?

_Well- Argh, never mind that. I just have an idea to find Gildarts' weakness without the star magic you used-_

"What's with you?" Gildarts says, interrupting Sting. "Are you so startled by me that you can't even speak at my presence? Let's have a fair fight, Lucy."

I glare at the man. Damn this cheater. I am totally out of magic. How is this even a fair fight? This jerk.

Again, he runs up towards me. I try to dodge him as many times as I can, but it is just so tiring and vexing. He is so fast, yet so strong. How is that? He is almost impossible to dodge. His fist keeps skimming my skin, creating just as much pain as I experienced to Minerva's _Immortal Slave _magic.

_Layla, are you alright?! _

Argh, Sting… You're back.

I continue to dodge Gildart's punches and kicks as I listen to Sting; however, it is hard to listen while running for my life.

_I just have this idea._

Yeah, you might have to hurry and spit it out because I'm practically running for my life here.

_Haven't you ever wondered why Minerva had Rogue __**only **__erase your memories? Don't you think it's strange how she didn't erase mine too? _

Yeah, but what does that have anything to do with Gildarts?!

_Don't you remember her last words before she died?_

Yeah… I can remember her exact words, saying "_**I can't die yet… Gildarts will-"**_. Suddenly, my eyes widen. Those words… that's the answer!

_You've figured it out, haven't you?_ Sting says with a slight tone of pride in his voice.

Yeah… Thanks Sting.

...Sting?

Hello?

But his voice is gone, as if he disappeared, having no more regrets in this world. I grinned. He could finally live in peace, huh?

I face Gildarts with a strong glare. "You act like you're all that, don't you?" I say with humor in my voice. "But really, you're weak."

"Psh, what are you talking about?" Gildarts says.

"You know that my weakness is fire very well, but you can't kill me, can you?" I say, smirking.

Gildarts raises an eyebrow at me. "What are you implying?"

I take a deep breath and approximate the amount of magic I have left. I should have enough for this spell. Sting taught me this spell a few centuries ago, but I was never able to do it, despite the many times I tried. But, I think this time, I can do it. I can definitely do it.

"Your weakness is connected to how powerful your magic is, isn't it?" I say. "The stronger your magic, the easier to attack your weakness is, which is why mine is such an easy one like fire."

"So you're trying to imply that you're stronger than me by having an easy weakness?" Gildarts laughs. "That's impossible."

I crack my neck, looking at him as I turn my head. "I'm not saying that. You're obviously stronger than me, but that also means your weakness is easier to attack." I laugh and point at him. "And I figured it out."

"W-Wait what?" he says. I can sense the fear in his voice. "How? That's impossible. You didn't even use magic!"

"It's obvious," I say. I close my eyes. I can do this. Come on me… I can do this.

I open my arms to the side, as if they were wings. I heard Gildarts gasp. I smirk. I know he recognizes this pose.

_Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens… All the stars, far and wide, show me thy appearance with such shine, _I begin canting.

"No! Stop right there Lucy!" Gildarts cries.

_Oh Tetrabiblos… _I open my eyes. Instead of my pupils, replacing it was a golden pattern inscribed in my eyes in the ancient language my ancestors used. Instantly, I could read it. The scenery around me was as if Gildarts and I were in a sphere of colors of every kind.

_I am the ruler of the stars! _I shout, calling the stars to allow me to guide them. _Aspect become complete! _

"No… No…" Gildarts mutters. Instantly, he begins to run, trying to flee from my magic. But he and I know that in this sphere of colors, there is no where to run. This is a dimension I have created with my magic.

_Open thy malevolent gate… Oh eighty-eight stars of the heaven… _I say, calling all eighty-eight constellations of the sky to come down as spheres. Please stars… bestow your power on me!

_Shine! _I shout, aiming at Gildarts who is trying to run away. _**Urano Metria! **_I scream, releasing all the energy I stored.

Instantly, the magic hits Gildarts, blasting him into pieces in seconds. I pant heavily. That spell not only takes a lot of magic, but also a lot of physical strength. I feel as though all my muscles just gave up on me. Luckily, I am immortal, so I can still stand somewhat.

It's finally over now, right? All this fighting is over. I got revenge on both Minerva and Gildarts. Sting and Rogue can finally live in peace… and so can I. I can finally die in peace also, once I get Wendy and Natsu to a safe place… It is about time I go anyway. It's already been centuries now. All I have to do is touch fire.

Slowly the dimension of colors I made disappears and I'm back at the meadow with Natsu and Wendy, who are still unconscious, and Lisanna's dead body. Just seeing them makes my heart tighten in guilt… It is my fault for dragging all of them in this after all…

Wait a second… if both Gildarts and Minerva are dead, why is this meadow still in existence?! This is a dimension they created! Why isn't it disappearing?! Why aren't we back to Earth yet?!

"You think you can get away with killing my father and comrade so easily?" I hear a voice behind me.

No way… There's one more?! How long is this going to last?! I don't even have anymore magic!

Instantly, I turn around to see who it is. It is a woman with brown wavy hair. She is wearing a business suit and skirt, but her white shirt is not buttoned all the way up.

Wait a second. I look at the woman carefully. No way… isn't that… Natsu and my jerky math teacher that hates me so much because I always come late to class?! Ms. Alberona…? Why in the world is _she _here? More like, _how _did she even get here?

Wait a second… Ms. Alberona… Gildarts Alberona… No way, is she Gildarts' daughter? They have the same last name after all.

Ms. Cana Alberona, Fairy High's worst math teacher, is a magic user as well?! Don't tell me... she's also part of Minerva and Gildarts?!

**\- End of Chapter 30 -**

Hi guys (^0^)/ Hope you liked this new chapter~ I apologize for the cliffhangers (_,_,)_ I promise I'll update the next chapter soon! Please review and look forward to it~! \\(^w^\\)


	31. Chapter 31: Lucy

**Lucy Heartfilia**

"Ms. Alberona…" I mutter with wide eyes. "W-What? How are you here?"

"You must be strong if you got to me," my teacher says. "You even killed my father. I'm impressed. You can call me Cana since I'm not really much of a teacher anyway."

"What… Who are you?" I say.

Ms. Alberona smirks. "Cana Alberona, card manipulation user. I'm immortalized just as well as you. Well, you and I are the only immortals alive in this universe now," she says.

I glare at her. Despite the strong look on my face, I know that there was no way I could win. My magic is completely depleted. I can't do anything about it. It takes at least two to three days for my magic to refill fully. Ugh… What should I do?

"I'll kill you!" I shout loudly. "I'll end immortality for good."

Me and my big mouth. I talk so confidently yet I'm not at all. Shoot. I'm practically screwed. I watch Cana squint her eyes at me. "Hm… That sounds interesting," she says. Damn it, I just provoked the enemy.

Cana takes out one of her cards. So she's a card magic user.

"Your weakness…" she says. She flips through her cards and takes one out with a drawing of a flame on it. I gulp when I see it. I can feel goose bumps forming on my white skin. "It's fire, isn't it?"

I open my mouth to speak, but I am speechless. How did she find out? Minerva must have told her! Damn it… judging from her cards, I know that she can use fire.

"Unfortunately, my cards don't use fire as well as your friend over there," she says, nudging her head towards Natsu's direction.

"What do you want with him?" I say angrily. If she tries to do anything to Natsu, I swear I'll kill her. I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it takes my life.

"Ugh…" Suddenly, I hear a groan from Natsu. As fast as I can, I run towards him, worried.

"Natsu!" I scream. I am just so happy that he finally woke up. I kneel down next to him and put him in my arms. "Are you alright? Can you breathe? How's your headache?"

"What happened…?" he mutters, rubbing his forehead. "I got that… same headache again… Don't tell me… I forgot someone again?"

I swallow hard. "Well… Natsu, never mind that…" I grab him and hug him tight. "I… I'm just so glad that you're okay."

"Urgh…" I hear Wendy groan.

"Wendy!" I shout. Thank god... She woke up too! She is sitting up, rubbing her forehead in pain. "Are you okay?!"

"W-What was I doing?" she mutters, looking around.

Cana suddenly smirks and points to Natsu. "He'll do," she says.

"Do what?" I ask, confused.

Cana looks at me with laughter in her eyes. What is she thinking? She takes out one of her cards. It is black with a purple smiley face imprinted in the center. For some reason, when I see that smiley face, I get an odd feeling of fear. What is this bad feeling? I gulp when she makes an odd pose with it. She sticks the card out with one hand in Natsu and my direction with the card's smiley face faced down.

Suddenly, a large gust of wind blows me off Natsu. "Kyah!" I hear Wendy scream. I try my best to grasp onto the grass to stop my body from blowing around as soon as possible. But the grass is just too flimsy.

Dammit. I try to dig my hands into the dirt to stop my movement. It is painful. I am going so fast that my fingertips burn from the little minerals in the soil. But eventually I stop. From a far distance, I can see gusts of wind blows around Natsu's body with a purple magic circle underneath him.

"_Manipulate_," she says simply.

"ARGH!" Natsu screams loudly.

"Natsu!" I cry. I try to crawl over to him, but the winds are too strong. I can't even budge.

After a few seconds, the winds die down and I can stand again. I can see Wendy from a distance. She is also confused on what is going on. In the center of the large meadow is Natsu… with Cana smiling next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. Natsu just stands there, not doing anything. His bangs cover his eyes, so I can't see his expression. His mouth is closed with no emotion.

"N-Natsu…?" I mutter softly. I walk towards him and Cana, but suddenly fire blasts out of where he is standing. I scream. Fire… Fire… No! I have to run.

What's going on? What happened to Natsu?

I run towards Wendy. We both stand together, back to back, trying to figure out what to do. The fire has spread so much that almost the whole meadow is covered in it. I look over to Natsu. His back is hung over, like a puppet. My eyes widen. This is exactly like what happened at the hospital, back when Natsu was first taken over.

_Kill the immortal princess… _Natsu hisses, his head twitches to the right and his glass-like eyes widen in a creepy way. _Kill… Layla Eucliffe. _

No way. Please, tell me this isn't happening. Those words… Those puppet-like actions… He is doing the same things he did to me when he first got controlled by that mysterious person.

"It… It was you!" I shout. "That day in the hospital when Natsu was turned into a puppet… You were the one who controlled him… Cana!"

Cana snickers, putting her hand on her waist. "And what can you do about it?" she asks.

I shake my head. This has to be a nightmare. The strongest fire user… the person I loved, is now trying to kill me. Instantly, I remember what Minerva told me that day, many centuries ago. I can still remember her exact words.

**"_You will be emotionally attached to a man who can control fire, and he will be the one to kill you," _**she said about five centuries ago.

My eyes widen in terror. I was confused, but there was one thing I knew for sure. I wasn't going to make it out here alive.

"Lucy!" Wendy cries. She grabs my shoulders and turns me towards her. "I-I will definitely protect you!" she exclaims confidently. But I can tell she is afraid. "Natsu would definitely want me to protect you! So don't think you'll die here, Lucy!" she says, as if she read my mind.

I can feel tears, trying to force their way through my eyes. But this isn't the time to cry. I have to figure out a way to get Natsu back to his original state.

"Natsu, attack the immortal princess," Cana says, pointing to me.

I gulp. I can't die yet. I need to live so that I won't have any regrets. I would definitely regret it if I just died right here with Natsu still in that state.

Natsu begins to rush towards me in quick speed. _Fire Dragon's Claw! _Natsu shouts. His hand explodes in flames as he is running. Dammit. He has a strong build, so I know I can not fight him off. Quickly, I roll to the side, dodging his magic. Immediately, he stops in his tracks with a screech and stands. He is breathing heavily. Being controlled must take a lot of his physical strength.

"Natsu! Get ahold of yourself!" I scream. "Don't you remember who I am?!"

Natsu doesn't say anything. He just walks over to me. I just lie in the grass. I know I can't run. If I run, he'll just chase after me and I'll die. If I stay, he will also kill me.

Last time this happened, I remember using Aries as a soft pillow to calm Natsu down, and then I hugged him tight like a child, reminding him of who he was. But that option isn't possible. I'm out of magic.

Suddenly, streams of fire sprout from Natsu's hands. He does a quick spinning motion to twist the flames, as if they were made of water. _Crimson Lotus,_ he shouts. Then he slowly brings his hands together, making a flame explosion towards me. _Exploding Flame Blade! _he screams.

The explosion of fire is fast. It is coming at me in quick speed. I cover my fire. I can't dodge this… I can feel the heat, coming closer and closer.

"Ah!" I scream.

Suddenly, I see someone's leg sweep in front of me. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" I hear a familiar voice cry. It is Wendy. She jumps and lifts her feet, unleashing large winds the moment she swings her leg down at Natsu magic. The winds whirl around the flames, spreading it to the opposite direction. Natsu jumps back from all the pressure, still being controlled by Cana.

"What are you doing?!" Cana shouts. "Kill ignore that blue hair girl and kill the princess already!"

_I… I… _Natsu mutters in his hissing voice. A tear drips down from his right eye. It is as if he is trying to fight his own consciousness. Suddenly, his eyes seem to blink back to their original color, only for half a second. Then they turn back to the glassy color.

"Dammit… This guy is fighting against me…" Cana mutters. "He's a tough one…" She takes out another one of the same cards and brings it down. "Manipulate," she hisses again.

"Natsu!" Wendy and I scream.

Another purple magic circle appears underneath Natsu. He screams in pain. "AH!" he screams. "ARGH!"

"Natsu!" I scream again.

"Run away!" he shouts back. "**GET AWAY FROM ME!**"

Fire blasts from where he is standing, like an explosion. Wendy and I immediately get down to avoid it.

I have to save Natsu… but how…? I couldn't use magic and his magic is my weakness. I'll die if I get close to him.

… I'll _die _if I get close to him. Die...

Suddenly, an idea sparks to me. I know it is crazy. I know it sounds horrible… but it is my only choice.

As long as Natsu isn't hurt, it will all be okay.

The fire dies around Natsu and he is back to his puppet-state. He is slouching again. I take a deep breath. I only have one chance in this.

"Wendy," I say. I stand in front of her. "Please trust me in this."

"What is it?" she says. "I trust you, Lucy."

"Run away as fast as you can from here."

"Sure, but-" Suddenly, she hesitates. "Are you crazy?!" she suddenly yells. "You need me! You'll _die _without me protecting you!"

"**TRUST ME WENDY**," I say in a loud strong voice. She cringes. I usually never shout that loud after all. "I have lived for many centuries, so many that I can't even count them," I begin to explain. "And, I think it's about that time-"

"Stop saying nonsense!" Wendy screams. "What about us, Natsu and me?! You can't leave us! Natsu… He… He _needs _you, Lucy!"

Stop saying that Wendy… Please… It will only make me want to cry. I need to stay strong. I need to do this.

"Wendy… I have lived for long enough-"

"Natsu loves you!" Wendy screams. "HE LOVES YOU, LUCY!" I can hear her tears flowing down her face. "Are… Are you just going to throw away that love he carries for you?!"

My eyes widen. I turn to Wendy, facing her. She is crying, face full of tears. "I came to Fairy High because I wanted to meet you," she says. "I wanted to meet the girl my twin brother always told me about… He always told me about how much he was in love with you… so… y-you… you can't just leave!"

Natsu… He… He loves me…? My heart pounds wildly. No way… That means we have mutual feelings! But… it is already too late for that. Tears begin to pour out of my eyes. I try to hide them using my sleeve, but I can't. They just keep pouring.

"Lucy…" Wendy says. She is about to hug me to comfort me, but I stop her.

"Don't get any closer," I say, putting my hand up. I wipe my tears and look at her with serious eyes. I have to say this or else I know that I would definitely be too scared to attempt what I am about to do. "Please… Wendy… I beg you. Run as far as you can in this meadow, and don't protect me, no matter how hard I scream."

"I… I can't!" Wendy exclaims. "Lucy… I can't leave you-"

"You can!" I interrupt. "Hurry!"

"But Lucy-"

"**GO**!" I shout as loud as I can.

Wendy's eyes widen. I can see hear tears streaming even faster on her face. "Fine… But… promise me you won't die."

"I promise," I say.

And right after that, Wendy begins to run off at the distance. I smile. I'm sorry Wendy… but…_ I lied_.

Natsu and I face each other. I stare at him with fierce eyes as I breathe in and out slowly. He stares back at me with his glassy eyes.

Natsu ignites both of his hands in flames. _Fire Dragon's, _he says. He brings his arms together, creating a large fireball above him. _Brilliant Flame! _he shouts as he throws the ball at my direction.

I close my eyes and take a breath. Then I open them. "Natsu!" I scream. I begin to run.

I run as fast as I can towards to fireball, allowing it to engulf my body. The flames immediately pierce my body. It burns. It burns so much that I just want to lie down and give up. I can already feel my feet, already beginning to disappear. The pain is just so unbearable. I can't even describe it.

This is it… I'm going to do this.

This is the only way I can get to Natsu after all.

I keep running and blast my way through the fireball. My clothes are on fire, but it doesn't even matter anymore… because I see Natsu.

Immediately, I wrap my arms around his body. Instantly, he blasts flames out of himself. _Kill! _he hisses. _Kill the immortal princess-_

"Stop it Natsu," I say sternly. I hug him tighter and pat his pink hair, trying to calm him down. He begins to scream like a child. "Shush… it's going to be alright…" I say in a calm voice. It is hard to talk in a calm voice however. The fire flaming from my clothes is just rushing my disappearance two times faster than the normal immortal, so I have to get this done fast.

I am crying. I can not help it. The tears won't stop. "Natsu, it's okay now," I whisper. "Stop it now. It's going to be alright."

"Lu… Luce…?" I hear that familiar voice.

"No way…" I can hear Cana from a distance. "She… Lucy actually…"

"Natsu!" I shout. I loosen the hug and smile at him. His eyes are back to that jet black lively color. But instead of happiness in his eyes, I see fear.

"Oh... my god..." he mutters. "Lucy! You… You're disappearing!" Tears instantly blast out of his eyes. He shakes his head, as if he is trying to get out of this reality. "No… No… Please… stop!"

I look down at my body. From my chest down, my whole body is already gone. Only my arms, shoulders, neck, and head remain. My heart beats in fear. I had no idea death like this could be so frightening. I force myself to stop crying. If I cry, I'll just make Natsu panic more. I have to be brave.

I put my hand on Natsu's cheek. "Natsu… live like a normal mortal for me… okay?" I say to him calmly.

"Luce… No… No! I don't want to forget you!" he screams. He tries to hold my body, but his hands just go right through me. My heart seems to clench in sadness. I can't even feel his touch anymore and he can't feel mine. My sense of touch is gone.

"Natsu… I believe that you can fight Cana without me," I say to him. "I… I believe in you!"

"Luce! Don't say that! You're coming with me-"

"I love you," I interrupt him. "I love you, Natsu Dragneel."

Tears stream down his face even faster. "Me too…" he cries. "I love you too, Luce… No… it's _Lucy_ isn't it?" He does his goofy smile, but the tears in his eyes tells me that he is just forcing it. "I love you, Lucy Heartfilia."

My eyes widen. For the first time, he called my name correctly. My heart pounds when he says my true name.

As I thought… I don't want to leave him.

"I promise… I'll come back!" I say to him. "I'll come back to this world and pound the memories of me back in you if I have to!" I shout loudly. "But… until then, hold these keys for me," I say, taking out my twelve golden keys and cupping them into his hand. "I promise I'll come back for them."

Natsu nods. He grasps onto my keys and holds my cheek. Although I can not feel his touch, I feel like I can feel his warmth.

"I'll wait for you," he says. "Always."

"Thank you Natsu, for being in my life," I whisper as I smile at him as he brings my face towards his… And… he kisses me as my world turns black.

**\- End of Chapter 31 -**

**_~ Metallic Snow_**


	32. Chapter 32: Natsu

**Natsu Dragneel**

I closed my eyes, kissed her, felt her warmth, and opened my eyes to see that she was gone.

_**"****_I promise…_"**_ she whispered to me._** "I'll come back."**_

"Lucy… Lucy…" I whisper her name over and over again. I crouch down and hug my legs like a child. I grasp onto the twelve golden keys she left with me. Lucy… why did you have to leave me? I… I miss you.

I miss your royal blue eyes. I miss your blonde angelic hair. I miss your smile you gave me whenever I cried. I miss your touch, the warmth of your lips.

Suddenly, I can feel a headache begin to form in my head. My heart beats fast in fear. After the massive headache, I know that I am about to forget about her, Lucy, an immortal.

No… No… I don't want to forget her. Water fills my eyes. Please, stop this headache from forming… Please! I beg you… God… Anyone… Please, do whatever you want with me… Just don't make me forget Lucy's existence.

_**"****Natsu… I believe that you can fight Cana without me,"**_ I remember Lucy telling me.

The headache is hurting more and more as the seconds pass, but slowly, I stand up and look at Cana with a glare in my eyes.

"You don't have long, don't you," Cana says. "You're going to forget about her soon."

"KYAH!" I can hear Wendy scream from afar. It is probably the universe altering her memories.

I am tempted to scream too. The pain is traveling across my brain.

"Stop trying to resist the universe's magic," Cana says. "It's not that bad anyway. You won't even remember that you ever loved her-"

"Shut the hell up!" I scream. Lucy believes in me. She believes that I can defeat Cana. I allow my feet to ignite in flames, giving me more of a boost to run. Quickly, I dash towards Cana with fire blasting out of my fists.

"Fire Dragon's Crushing Flame!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I swing my hand in a claw-like fashion, but Cana jumps back to dodge. She takes out a card out of her hands. It is yellow.

"Clone," she says. The card shines bright, blinding me. The grass between us is blasting out, as if an explosion is happening there. A mini tornado is spinning around this section of the grass. I have no idea what is going on, but when I can finally see the inside of the tornado, my eyes widen.

_Who is that?_

It is a boy my age, standing in front of me. He has spiky blond hair and slanted, slit pupiled, royal blue eyes with a scar above his right eye. He is slim, but muscular. He stands there, motionless and emotionless. "Sting…" my mouth suddenly says without my own will.

_Wait… What did I just say? _It is as if my body remembers something that I don't… My mouth moved without my own will. It said... **Sting**. Why does that name touch me so much? Suddenly, I feel something wet flow down my cheek. I touch it. It is a salty tear. I notice that I am crying uncontrollably. Since when did I start crying? What is wrong with me?

Ugh… the headache the universe is giving me isn't helping me at all. As the aching gets heavier and heavier, I get more of a temptation to just drop dead and stop everything. But I need to continue. I have to keep going, for Lucy.

"Your body won't attack this man," Cana says, smirking confidently. "So you should just collapse like a normal person would from that headache."

I wipe my tears and try my best to stop myself from shaking. I don't know who this man is, but I will continue. This man is just a clone she made from another person's image obviously. Yet… why am I so scared…? Why is every part of my body shaking so much...? My feet seem to be glued to the ground. Why does this person intimidate me so much?

"Fight him," Cana says to the clone.

The blonde man begins to generate a sphere of light around his left hand as he runs towards me in great speed. "_White Dragon's Claw," _the clone yells in a loud voice.

As if I am familiar with this magic, I shout, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" and allow my fists to engulf in flames. I try to punch the man as he tries to punch me, trying to parry his magic, but to my surprise, the flames that were brilliantly blazing through my hands instantly disappears at the moment I got close to the man.

The blond man punches me right in the face, hard. I am instantly blown back by his strength. I roll across the meadow, finally stopping after a few seconds. My body aches everywhere… argh. Dammit… why did my flames disappear? I don't know why, but for some reason I can sense my flames screaming, _Don't attack him! Don't hurt him!_

I can't understand why. Why won't my flames attack this blonde clone of a man? It's not like I know him… But, earlier, I said _Sting_ when I first saw his face. The name seems so familiar… but I can't get my thoughts around it with this terrible headache.

Dammit! I hate thinking this hard!

I swipe my arms in a circular fashion in great speed with streams of fire igniting from my hands, creating a powerful torrent of flames that barrages towards the clone. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" I yell, allowing my fire to go berserk.

The flames instantly hit the clone, right on target. I walk towards him, excepting it to be all over, when I see something extraordinary: my flames avoided him on their own. My eyes widen in amazement. There is the clone, just standing right in the middle of the explosion, unharmed, as the rest of the meadow is just burning into flames. Where he is standing, the grass is perfectly green… _Why?!_

This is the first time my flames did not listen to me. Why are they acting on their own?

Immediately, I run into my own fire, making my clothes burn, but I am immune to fire, so it doesn't really matter for me. I go into the green grass the clone is on and grab the collar of his shirt, putting my face right next to his.

"Why can't I attack you?!" I shout loudly. I try to punch him without magic, but my fist just stops right in front of his face, as if my own body just didn't want to punch him at all in general. "Why… do my flames treat you like a comrade… and not my enemy…?" Tears begin to fall out of my eyes as I stare into the clone's royal blue eyes.

Wait a second… _royal blue eyes…? _I thought only the royal bloodline of the Eucliffe kingdom had those kinds of eyes. I look carefully at this man's appearance.

He kind of… looks like Lucy.

Suddenly, I come to a realization. Lucy told me that she had a twin brother who was immortal like her… and my memories of him got taken away. However, she also said that it is only the mind that forgets… the body always remembers. I gulp. No way... If I am correct, he is probably… a clone of Lucy's twin, Sting Eucliffe.

The reason why my flames won't attack him is because my flames have a will and memory of their own. My flames remember him and will not attack him. If I am correct, then I should be able to attack him once I calm my flames down.

_Calm down flames… _I say to them. _It's not Sting Eucliffe… It's only a clone of him, so you can attack him._

Immediately, I can feel my body calm down. I stop shaking and the tears that were pouring out of my eyes earlier have all dried up. I am okay now. That means... that man must be a clone of Sting Eucliffe.

I take a deep breath. "Roar of the… Fire Dragon!" I shout loudly. Quickly, I gather the largest amounts of flames I have at my mouth and aim it at the clone of Sting.

Once the flames touch the clone, it turns back into the original yellow card Cana used to make the clone, and the card burns into ashes. As the card burns, I can't help but smile.

"Thank you," I whisper softly. "For allowing me to see him again." I am glad that I got the chance to see who Lucy's brother was... and my... my best friend.

Then I turn around and face Cana, my past math teacher. "You're done here."

"More like, why haven't you collapsed yet?!" she screams. "Are you human?! You're suppose to collapse from the headache the universe puts on you by now-"

"Do you really think _I _am normal?" I say in a mocking tone as my flames ignite from where I stand. "Lucy put her trust on me. She believes in me, that is why I am still standing."

Cana grits her teeth. She takes out another card out of her pocket, but I instantly burned the card to ashes.

"You tried to manipulate me because you knew that I could burn your cards as soon as you could take it out, even though you could've just killed Lucy with your own fire card magic," I say.

Her eyes widen. I smirk. I must have hit a nerve. That only means that my guess is right.

"And the reason why you appeared so late was because you were waiting for Lucy to run out of magic," I say with my eyes staring at hers directly. "Can you argue against that?"

Cana clenches her fists and grabs another card, but I burn it right away again, along with the rest of her cards she has in her pocket. "You sickening human-"

"The reason why you waited for Lucy to run out of magic was because… your weakness is celestial magic, correct?" I ask, cracking my head.

Cana shakes for a bit, but immediately stops. She puts her hand on her hip. "Yeah, it is," she admits. "But what can you do about it? You don't use celestial magic, so there is no way you could kill me."

"Really?" I reply, smirking. "I wonder…" I put my hand in my pocket and take out the twelve golden keys Lucy entrusted to me, sticking it out for her to see.

"Where did you-"

"I'm guessing Lucy already figured out your weakness, but was already dying by the time she figured out," I reply as I jingle the keys. "That is why she entrusted me with these."

Cana take one step back slowly. Then another.

Which key did Lucy say was her strongest and fastest? I flip through the keys and see an orange one. Is this her most trusted spirit, Leo, she told me about?

I rip that key off the chain and stick it out. I always watched Lucy do this, but I am not sure if I am able to do it myself. Well, there's only one way to figure out.

"Gate of the lion… I open thee," I shout loudly. Underneath me, a golden magic circle appears. It is shining bright. I always thought that this light was blinding, but it is even brighter from here in the center of the circle. How did Lucy endure all of this light? All of the sudden, I can feel a great amount of magic being removed from me. My magic is running out of my veins like a river full of currents. I had no idea that summoning a spirit could be this tiring. "L-L...Le…" I try to say the name but my strength is depleting fast. My headache is not helping either.

But I have to do this. I have to grant Lucy's wish to end the age of immortals for good.

"_LEO!_" I force myself to scream as loud as I can.

Suddenly, golden streams of light shine around my body, blinding me. When the light subsides, I see a orange haired figure standing before me. He is male, wearing a suit with glasses, making him extra classy. He has delicate facial features and his hair is long and spiky, resembling lion ears.

He bows to me. "I am your spirit that Lucy entrusted you with," he says. "I will do whatever you want."

My eyes widen. This guy... no wonder why Lucy said that he was her most trusted spirit. "Attack the brown haired woman," I say, pointing to Cana who is trying to run away.

Immediately, Leo begins to run after her without asking. "Regulus…" he mutters as he gathers light on his open right palm. Once he gets close to Cana, he clenches his fist, making the light shatter. "Impact!" he cries. The punch connects and hits Cana in the gut with an explosion, blasting her away with great force.

"AH!" she cries as she flies backwards from the impact.

Once Leo is done with his job, he turns around to face me, bows, and disappears into light, going back into the golden key. Cana is left fallen on the ground, defeated and unconscious.

I walk towards her. She is fading away, disappearing. As she disappears, the headache in my head is worsening. I am barely conscious.

"The age…" Cana suddenly mutters. "The age of the immortals… is over."

And once she says that, she explosions into sparkles of light and disappears. The sparkles of light seem to rain over the meadow, like fireflies in a dark night. How beautiful. I wish Lucy could have seen this with me.

"Argh!" I scream. The headache is even worse now. It is probably because Cana just died. Dammit. The pain of the headache has doubled since I tried to fight against it for this whole time.

I fall on the ground, clutching onto my head. My body is shaking. _No…_ _No! _I scream over and over to myself. I don't want to forget everything. I don't want to forget Lucy.

_Please… anything but that… _I don't want to forget her. I don't want to forget her. I don't want to! Stop! Stop!

Tears burst out of my eyes. The pain is too overwhelming. I can barely fight against it.

Lucy… Lucy… you said that you would come back but… what if I don't remember you when I see you the next time? I don't want that to happen. I want to remember. All the memories I had with you… the times we walked to school together, the times we fought together, cried together, laughed together, smiled together, did… practically everything together.

I don't want to forget any of it.

The universe is trying to take my memories, I can feel it. But I clutch onto my head, trying to use all my strength to stop it. I will fight this. I don't care if even the world is against me.

I definitely won't forget Lucy. I won't allow it. I want to remember her warmth, the love I have for her. If I forget everything, then… it would be as if she never existed. It would be the same life I had in freshmen year, back when I didn't know her.

I remember back before all this immortal stuff even happened. I used to go sit by the cherry tree and sometimes catch her, watching me behind the school building back when she was in the **Prince Natsu Club. **When I first saw her, the first thing that came up in my mind was _angel_. She was beautiful, especially with that blonde hair of hers. It was as if she was a guardian angel, coming down to watch over me. From that day, I went to the cherry tree every Friday at twelve-thirty. And every time I went there, I saw her.

The reason why I really went to sit by that tree by myself every Friday was because I just wanted an excuse to see her.

Why couldn't Lucy and I be normal humans…? No magic, no immortality, none of this drama… none of this! I… I _just _wanted to be with her. I just wanted to be _normal_. I wanted to become her boyfriend, go on dates, celebrate holidays with her, and… most importantly… live without fear of being killed. But I never got to go on any dates with her. I never got to celebrate any holidays, nor her birthday.

Tears fall out of my eyes faster and faster. The pain of the headache and knowing that I'll forget my the girl I loved so much was just too much…

Suddenly, my world seems to be turning darker and darker. I know what that means. My consciousness is deteriorating. I am going to pass out soon.

"Lu… cy…" I cry, gasping for air. "I… I swear that I won't forget you… no… no matter what…" I say as the tears explode out of my eyes. I stick my hand towards the sky, as if I am trying to grasp onto the sky, trying to grab something to stop my consciousness from going away. "I… I…"

My world is turning dark. I can no longer fight the universe. It is too strong.

"Lucy… **I love you**."

Suddenly, the pain is too much and I pass out.

**\- End of Chapter 32 -**

Hi guys! Thank you so much for voting for the ending! :) I will try my best to incooperate the winning ending to the last chapter of this story.

The next chapter is going to be the last one! Hope you guys will read it when I post it!

Thank you so much for reading and please look forward to the next chapter!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


	33. Chapter 33: Natsu

"_**The mind might forget, but the body always remembers."**_

**Natsu Dragneel**

_Six years later…_

"Natsu, you okay?" Erza says, patting my back. Her boyfriend Jellal is here with me too.

It is Lisanna's death anniversary today.

"I'm fine, Erza," I say hesitantly.

I heard from the news about six years ago that Lisanna had been murdered by a stab into her body, although they still have not found who the murderer was.

But for some reason, I can't help but think that she wasn't the murderer's target of kill. I have this odd feeling that she was trying to save someone. I really don't know though, I have no basis or evidence for it... It's just a feeling.

Six years ago, I stood in front of this grave, crying... over and over again for Lisanna's death, angry over whoever killed her... However, those tears that I shred... It felt like I was crying over someone else's death, not Lisanna's. It was the oddest feeling, but I decided not to say anything.

"Hey Natsu, remember high school?" Jellal asks. "Man, those days were just crazy."

I nod, staring at Lisanna's grave. "It was," I reply with a smile. I walk over to her grave and clean the stone.

_Here sits Lisanna Strauss, the girl who would do anything for the one she loved,_ the gravestone read. I chose this epitaph due to my constant thought that Lisanna didn't die in vain, she died to protect someone... But... who?

Suddenly, I hear a crunch of a leaf behind me. Someone is walking behind me. I turn around to see Lisanna's siblings, Mirajane and Elfman.

"Hey Mira. Hey Elfman," I say. "Haven't seen you two in a while. Aren't you busy with your jobs?"

Mirajane smiles at me. She is now a world famous model and Elfman is a world famous boxer. "Well, we had to take a day off to come back to Japan to see Lisanna," she replies. A small tear runs from her left eye. She quickly dabs it off to hide it.

"Lisanna really did love you Natsu," Elfman says. He pats my back, grinning.

"Yeah, I know," I reply. "But…" I look down at my feet, staring at it. "I couldn't return her feelings..."

Mirajane walks over to Lisanna's grave as well and helps me clean up her gravestone as well. "It's fine," she says. "You didn't have to return her feelings. You're not obligated to."

"But... I feel like I hurt her..." I say sadly.

"Did you have someone else in mind?" Mirajane says. "Like someone you were in love with back in high school?"

"High... school?" I ask. "I was in love with-" Suddenly, I pause. Who was I in love with? I remember being passionately in love, but I can't remember the person... why? I can't even remember the color of her hair, or her personality. That's odd… Usually, if one was deeply in love, every feature of the person would always be remembered.

"With?" Mirajane says.

I don't know why but tears suddenly pour out of my eyes. "I... I don't know…" I cry. Why in the world am I crying over a little crush from high school?! None of that even matters anymore... yet, I'm crying.

"I-I'm sorry," Mirajane quickly says. She takes out a tissue from her bag and hands it to me. "I won't ask anymore."

I take the tissue and wipe my tears. Why am I even crying? I don't even make sense at all. Randomly crying like this makes me look so lame.

"Come on Natsu!" Jellal shouts. "It's time to go!"

Quickly, I wipe my tears and wave goodbye to Lisanna's siblings. Then I get into Jellal's car and leave.

Erza and Jellal are talking happily. I would join in, but I can't help but think about my high school days... especially my junior year.

For some reason, my memories from my junior year of high school are short, like that year passed faster than any other. It seems like I didn't do much. I didn't hang out with friends or anything, which is odd for me. Usually I'm a person who hangs out a lot, but for some reason, in junior year, I went outside a lot... but I went alone.

However, I can't help but think that someone hung out with me also. There is no way I could've went outside without a friend. But... I can't remember who. Who did I hang out with so much in junior year? Argh... This is frustrating.

"Hey Natsu," Jellal says. "We set you up for a date."

"Oh..." I say. "Wait, what?!"

"It's about time you actually date someone," Erza replies with an evil glint in her eyes. "You have those looks, but you never fall in love with anyone!"

"I have fallen in love before, excuse you!" I argue back.

"Well, prove it," Erza smirks. "Who?"

"W-Who?" I stutter. I also wonder... who it is... I stay silent for a while.

"See, you never did," Erza smirks. "Jellal got this really cute girl to go on a date with you," she says. "Her name is Yukino. She's a year younger than us, twenty-one."

"Oh," I reply in a bored tone.

"Natsu, please," Jellal says. "Why are you always like this when it come to dating?"

I sigh. Honestly, I don't know. I just feel like I already have someone important in my heart. Well, even though there is no one, I feel like there is. I feel like... there was once someone I loved very deeply who no girl could even compare to.

Ugh... I'm so weird.

"Just try it okay," Erza says, trying to persuade me. "Yukino is a very nice and cute girl-"

"I don't care," I say loudly in a slightly rude tone. "I'm not going."

"But Natsu-"

"Can you drop me off at the sidewalk please?" I say angrily. "I don't need to be driven, I'll take the bus."

Jellal sighs as drives up to the curb and drops me off, saying, "Natsu, you have to get over it and start dating someone, or you'll never be happy." And then, he drives off.

Never be happy, huh? I stand on the curb, watching his car going farther and farther. I wonder if he is right. I never had a girlfriend before. I guess I just don't really think I _need_ one.

Well… to be honest, sometimes when I see couples cuddling together in public… I feel oddly jealous, like I wish I could do that with _my _special person. Well, it's not like I have a special person anyway.

I guess having a girlfriend would be cool and all but... my heart just keeps telling me to not get one. My inner emotions tell me to wait for someone... but who? It feels as though I am waiting for someone... Someone very important to me. I have no evidence of any of these feelings I have, but I can feel it. These emotions of mine are strong, that is why I will not get a girlfriend.

I look to the right and see my old high school, Fairy High. Maybe I should pay a visit. It wouldn't hurt after all.

I cross the street and walk into the school. I remember going to school like this by myself... myself? Did I really walk to school by myself? I feel like I did walk with someone. Oh well, I probably just forgot, or maybe it was with Lisanna or something.

I walk to the football field, where I played high school football during those short four years. Man, the memories here were the best.

When I was a senior, a scout scouted me to go to Tokyo University, even though I wasn't too smart. Now I'm in their college football team. The people in college are alright. Games are definitely more challenging.

I walk into the school building again to see old classrooms that I used to be in. Then, I passed my math classroom. For some reason, I can't remember who my math teacher or homeroom teacher were. Maybe I just have bad memory.

I keep walking, not really paying attention to where I am going, until I find myself in a certain place.

Ah... I remember. This is the place I spent every Friday for lunch, the cherry tree. It is the most beautiful tree in the academy, but I don't think that is the reason why I came to this tree every week for lunch.

Why did I even come here? Usually I like to eat with friends, so there had to be a reason. I hated to eat alone after all. Maybe there was someone who ate with me... but... who?

Who was it?

Ugh… Why can't I remember?

"Natsu," I hear an unfamiliar voice behind me. In response, I turn around to see a woman around my age.

My eyes widen. I don't know why, but suddenly I begin to cry. Tears just would not stop streaming out of my eyes.

She has long blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. She looks beautiful, angelic…

But, who is she?

How does she know my name?

"I'm back," she says in that lovely angelic voice. She giggles at the expression on my face... Her laugh sounds like the silver bells at Christmas time.

"Who... Who are you?"

For a split second, the woman bites her lip, as if she were about to cry. But right after that, she smiles at me. "I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia."

_Lucy…? _I thought. Lucy Heartfilia… Why does that name make me feel so comfortable and… warm? Suddenly, my vision begins to get blurred. It is my tears again. I am… crying? Why am I crying? That's so weird. I'm so weird! Why in the world am I crying in front of some woman I don't even know?

"Ugh…" I groan, trying to stop my tears. As fast as I can, I wipe my tears and look at the girl. "I am Natsu Dragneel."

"Yeah," Lucy says. "I know."

My eyes widen. How does she know?

I look into _Lucy_'s eyes. Although she is smiling, she looks so… sad.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" I ask in concern. "You look upset about something?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy says, laughing. "I'm fine."

As if my mouth and body are moving on their own, I go up to Lucy and flick her forehead. "**Don't lie to me, Luce**," my mouth rambles. "**How many times do I have to tell you?! Whenever you lie, I know that you have a habit of laughing!**"

Suddenly, Lucy covers her eyes in shock. Tears are slowing slipping out of her soft eyelids. "W-What you just said…" Lucy says. "And what you just called me… You called me… _Luce._"

Eh? W-What did I just say…? _I know_? How can _I know_? And I never even said something like that in my life! Why did I just say, _how many times do I have to tell you_? I just met this person! Now she's going to think I'm a freak!

"H-Huh?" I say nervously. Shoot, did I just make her cry too?!

"You called me… Luce," she says with a soft smile. "I never thought that you'd call me that ever again."

_Luce_? Now that I think about it, I did call her that. I wonder why? I don't usually make up nicknames on the spot without thinking.

"I guess I was right," Lucy says. "The mind might forget, but the body always remembers."

"W-Wait what?" I say. What kind of nonsense is she talking about? Now I am starting to think that she is a creepy, overly-familiar woman.

"No," she says quietly. "It's nothing." She looks into my eyes so familiarly… Why does she feel so familiar?

"Excuse me," I say. "But do I know you? You feel oddly familiar."

Instantly, she is silent. She doesn't say a word. It is as if she just went mute. After a few seconds, which felt like years, she laughs. "What are you saying? You're such a tease," she giggles. "Anyway, would you like to join me for lunch?"

Lunch? Hm… I'm hungry, so why not? "Sure," I say. Wait a second, why did I just agree to go with her? I'm going to eat lunch with a _complete_ stranger?! How weird can I get?

"Okay, let's go to the cafe nearby," she says. She walks off as I follow her from behind.

Why does she feel so familiar…? Usually, I would never go eat food with a stranger, but today I am. She could be a criminal for all I know! So… why do I trust her so much already?

Sometimes, I don't even understand myself.

"We're here," Lucy says, turning around to face me. She grins happily.

Why does her smile make my heart beat so fast…? It's so strange.

I look up to see the cafe. "Ah," I say aloud. I remember eating here once by myself.

"What's wrong?" Lucy suddenly says.

"W-What?"

"Your eyes…" she says. She looks into her bag and pulls out a tissue. She dabs the tissue on my eyes. "You're crying."

"What…?" I touch my cheek and sure enough, tears are falling out of my face. Why…? Why am I crying? This is just a cafe after all.

Lucy smiles, but I know she is just forcing it somehow. "Of course you would cry…" she whispers almost inaudibly. For some reason, I am able to hear her. "After all… this was the first place we hung out in…"

"Wait, what?!" I say. I hold onto her shoulders, shaking her. "Do I know you?! W-Where did I meet you? How do you know-"

"I'm sorry," Lucy says, laughing. "But today is the first time I met you."

She laughed again. So… she is lying. She laughs when she lies after all. That means… at some point of my life, I must have known her. But how…? If I met such a beauty, I must have remembered her. So… why is it that I don't know her?

Maybe I'm just thinking too much. She was probably laughing normally because I said such weird things earlier.

A waiter comes up to us. "Table for two?" he asks.

Lucy and I nod. The waiter leads us to our table. We sit on the chairs, but none of us say anything. We just have this silence.

Dammit… sitting in front of her makes me oddly nervous. Quickly, I slip my hand into my pocket where I keep my most prized possession: my twelve golden keys.

To be honest, I don't know where those keys came from. Six years ago, during my junior year, I woke up in a hospital with bruises that I can't even remember where I got. The doctors told me that I probably experienced a bit of amnesia and that I would recover the memories soon, but… I never got my memories of how I got those bruises and scars. It is odd.

The doctors told me that during my stay in the hospital, I was crying a woman's name constantly, crying and holding onto these twelve keys in my sleep daily. They said that they tried to get me to let go of these keys, but I always had an iron grip around them.

I don't think these keys open any doors, but I want to keep them for some odd reason. I feel like… they are important to me. Whenever I hold onto them, my nervousness instantly disappears, whether it's for a test or a big game for football. It always works.

I look at Lucy who is sitting across from me. I stare into her chocolate brown eyes. They are so beautiful, just like a fawn. My body just seems to drown in her beauty. She feels so familiar, yet she is a stranger.

"What university are you attending, Natsu?" she asks.

Wait a second, was I staring at her?! Quickly, I shake away my blush and stare at the floor. "T-Tokyo University."

"Woah!" she exclaims. "Did your studies improve that much over the years?!"

"No," I reply, laughing. "Of course not! You know how I'm so stupid. I just got in from a scout for my plays in football-"

Suddenly, I stop in the middle of my sentence.

Did she just say _did your studies improve that much over the years_? That question… doesn't it kind of imply that she knew me in the past or something? I shake my head. No, I'm probably just thinking too much again.

"What university do you go to?" I ask. "You look about my age."

"I'm twenty-two," she replies. "I recently got accepted in Tokyo University."

"Oh! You must be smart! That means that we'll be in the same school, right? Are you a transfer student?"

"N-Not exactly," she says.

"Exchange student?"

She looks around, as if she is trying to avoid eye contact with me. "I guess it's kind of like that," she laughs.

Laughing again… Liar. But I decide not to say anything. It might be a too personal thing.

We have an awkward silence again.

The waiter comes to take our order. We are still silent. A few minutes later, the waiter bring our food, but none of us are talking. Dammit… Think of something to say Natsu! I grasp onto the keys again. Somehow, it calms me down a bit.

"Since you're twenty-two, aren't you going to be a bit late if you start college now?" I say. "I mean, for most people our age, we are graduating this year."

Lucy looks at me like I'm crazy. "Of course I'm going to graduate this year!" she exclaims. "If I stay in college as such an oldie, it'd be the most embarrassing thing ever! I'm planning to finish college in a year of course!"

"W-What?!" I say, eyes widen. "H-How?!"

"If I stay I can do it, I'll do it," she says.

Man… This girl is probably a genius. "What are you majoring in?"

"Chemical engineering. How about you?"

My eyes widen. "Hey! That's the same as me!" I exclaim.

She looks to the side. "Of course it is," she says quietly. Her eyes look remorseful. Does she not like being in the same major as me?

Again, we don't talk and there is silence. We just eat. The few minutes we spend eating feels like hours. It just feels so awkward. Perhaps it is because she is a stranger.

After we eat, I pay the bill and we both walk out.

Lucy stands in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the sky. The wind blows through her strands of blonde hair. Like I thought, she really does look like an angel.

"I want to visit someone," Lucy says suddenly, facing towards me. "Will you come with me?"

And without thinking, I reply saying, "Yes."

**OoO**

I follow Lucy without knowing where we are going. Wait a second, why am I even following her anyway? Following a complete stranger? What the hell is wrong with me?

But… if she is just a stranger… why do I feel so attached to her?

We continue walking, and I am shocked at the direction we are going. Isn't this… the way to the graveyard?

Lucy continues to walk. I can't see the expression on her face at all. She seems completely emotionless.

Suddenly, she makes a sudden stop… at Gray's grave.

She bends down to look at the gravestone carefully and allows her hand to brush the stone lightly. She makes a soft smile. "I knew that you were here," she whispers. "I'm back."

"You know Gray Fullbuster?" I ask, bending down next to her.

Lucy looks at me and nods. "Yeah," she says. "He saved me. There is no way I can forget him."

"Saved you? How?"

"I was about to be hit by a truck, but he jumped in front of it to save me," she explains. Then she frowns. "But he lost his life doing so."

Wait a second, that's not how I remembered his death. I mean, he did get hit by a truck, but that was the truck's mistake. He wasn't trying to save anyone.

"Relax," Lucy says as if she can read my mind. "I know your memory of how he died was different."

"W-What?" I stammer. "H-How did you even know?"

She looks at the gravestone and then faces me. She doesn't say anything. All she does is give me a smile.

"There's one more person I really want to visit," Lucy says, getting up. "It is her death anniversary today."

Death anniversary? Isn't it Lisanna's death anniversary? It couldn't be Lisanna that she is talking about. It must be just a coincidence. But then… why is Lucy walking towards Lisanna's gravestone then?!

She kneels down at Lisanna's grave.

It is Lisanna.

She knows Lisanna.

But how? There wasn't one person that Lisanna knew that I didn't. We had the same group of friends and had the same extracurriculars since we were little until her death! I would have known Lucy if Lisanna and she knew each other.

"I'm back to this world, Lisanna," Lucy says.

_This world_? What in the world is Lucy talking about? Is she some crazy maniac?

"Thank you so much…" Lucy says. "Thank you so much for saving the one I loved."

"Wait, saved?" I say. "So she did save someone?!"

Lucy turns to me in bewilderment. She grasps onto my shoulders, standing up. "You… You remember?" she says quickly in excitement.

"What?"

"You remember?" she repeats.

"Remember what?"

"How… How Lisanna died…" she says.

"What are you talking about?" I ask. "She died from an unknown homicide, right?"

Lucy looks down at the ground and lets go of my shoulders. Her facial emotion changes from excitement to disappointment. "Oh," she says, almost a murmur. "Nevermind."

"But…" I say, bending down to look at Lisanna's gravestone. "For some reason, I have a feeling that Lisanna must have saved someone. That's why for the epitaph, I had them write _Here sits Lisanna Strauss, the girl who would do anything for the one she loved. _I don't know why I chose it. To be honest, I was going to tell them to write _Here sits Lisanna Strauss, the optimistic girl who lifted all of our hearts. _But for some reason, the other words just blurted out of my mouth without my own will."

Why am I saying this to this random stranger I met today? I never told anyone this in my whole entire life! So why… do I feel like I can trust her so much?

Lucy looks at me and cups my cheek with her small right hand. It is so soft and… warm. "That's because your body still remembers. The mind may forget but the body always remembers."

I look at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Um… for example, even though your mind thinks that I am a stranger, don't you think I seem oddly familiar to you? Or even someone you feel like you can trust even though you just met me?"

Huh…? How did she know? Is she psychic?

"You know… Six years ago, I had someone really important to me," Lucy says in a sad tone of voice. "But… when I came back a few years later, he lost every single memory of me."

"Every… _Every _single one?" I ask. That is unbelievable! Who would do such a terrible thing?!

"Yeah," she says. "He forgot the times we walked to school together, our love we had for each other, and our only kiss." I can smell salty tears trying to burst out of her eyes, but she suppresses it. "_Everything_ about me was deleted from his memories."

When I see her break down, I don't know what to do. So I just stand behind her and hug her tightly from the back. "It's okay Luce," I say to her, almost a whisper. "You have me by your side now."

She turns around at me, crying harder than before. She leans on my chest, crying heavily. "Wa… Waa!" she wails like a kid. Her hand grasps my shirt tightly. "Wa! Natsu…!"

And I just held her in front of Lisanna's grave for few hours as she cried.

**OoO**

_A year and a half later…_

This year, I graduated from college. I decided not to continue chemical engineering and decided to enter sports, football specifically, since I got scouted for the international team. And like Lucy said that she would do, she graduated from college within one year, which was extraordinary.

Within this one year, I spent a large amount of my time hanging out with Lucy. I don't know why. It just made me feel so nostalgic whenever I hung out with her, like she was an old friend… or maybe something even more.

Right now, I am at my old high school just to visit before I start the new season of football in Japan's official international team. With me is Lucy, since this is the first place we met.

Today, I am planning on confessing my love to her right where I met her one year ago.

"Why did you want to meet here today?" Lucy asks, sitting down next to the trunk of the cherry tree.

I sit next to her. "I just wanted to talk in private."

"Is it about your future?"

My eyes widen. "Yeah… it is," I reply. How does she always know what I am thinking? Lucy is really good at figuring me out since she is so observative.

Maybe that is why I fell in love with her.

My heart begins to beat wildly. Okay me. Just confess. It's no big deal. Just confess to her. Calm down me.

I grasp onto the golden keys in my pocket that give me this strange warmth. Alright. I can do this-

"T-Those… Those keys," Lucy suddenly says.

I look at her strangely and notice that I have been so nervous that I took the keys out of my pocket. Whoops. Ah shoot, now my secret is out. She's going to think that I am some weirdo now.

"You still have them…?"

"Huh?" I say, confused.

She puts her hand on my hand that is grasping onto the keys and takes the keys. For some reason, my body tells me not to take it back. When I see Lucy holding these keys, it feels even more comforting and I feel more relaxed.

"Luce," I say her name firmly. She looks at me, staring into my eyes. "I am going to start traveling around the world… because I got on Japan's international football team."

"I see…" she replies. "Will I still be able to see you…?"

I place my hand over hers and take a deep breathe. "I might not be able to visit Japan often, but as stupid as I am, I still want you to be aware of my feelings!" I shout.

Lucy nods with a confused look on her face.

"Luce…" I swallow my breath and grasp onto her tiny hand tightly. "I love you."

At first she doesn't say anything. She just sits there and stares back at me for a few seconds. She looks at the twelve keys, and looks back at me. Then she turns entirely red.

"Me too," she replies with a smile, covering her face to hide her adorable blush. "I also love you, Natsu."

And right after that, I lean over to kiss her forehead and hug her tight. Then I smell something. _Tears…_? I loosen the hug to see that she is crying. Why…?

"Luce, are you okay?" I ask. "Did I do something wrong?"

Lucy shakes her head. "No," she says. "It's just that… this kind of thing reminded me of…"

She doesn't even have to complete her sentence. I know that she is talking about. It is that man that forgot everything about her. The man that she fell in love with about seven years ago.

"I'll make you forget about that terrible guy!" I exclaim loudly. I grasp onto her shoulders to show that I am serious. "I'll treat you well! I'll never forget you! Even though I'll be away overseas, I promise I'll call you, text you, and facetime you as much as possible! So, go out with me, Luce!"

Lucy shakes her head and stands up. "I can't," she says. "I can't!"

Huh…? Why? I thought she said that she also loved me. I thought that our feelings were mutual.

"W-Why-"

"You… You _are _that man!" she shouts loudly. "You are the man who forgot everything about me! You are the person who you call terrible! You! You…" Her eyes begin to stream tears, dripping from her chin. She throws the twelve golden keys at my face. "Y-You! You… You are the one… who forgot me because I was… immortal."

"W-What?" I say. But Lucy ignores me and starts running. "Luce, wait!" I yell.

I chase after her, but she is already out of sight. What… What was that? What in the world just happened?

It is getting dark so I just go home, but I can't help but remember what she said. _You are that man! _I remember her shouting.

I am that man? There's no way. There has to be a mistake. I would never forget someone that important to me.

But Lucy also said, _You are the one… who forgot me because I was __**immortal**_.

Immortal? What is with her? What's with all this nonsense? I don't understand. Did I know her in the past or something? How did I forget her? What… in the world happened?

I open the door to my house. And immediately, my twin sister Wendy runs down the stairs to greet me. "Welcome home Natsu!" she says. Then she notices the look on my face. "W-What's wrong?"

"Hey… Wendy?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I know a girl named Lucy back in highschool?" I ask.

Wendy looks at me with a questioning look. "No," she replies. "Why do you ask?"

I shake my head. "It's nothing." Quickly, I run up to my room and slam the door shut. Then I go through my bookshelf, looking for my junior year's yearbook. There has to be something.

I take it out and scan through the pages. Luckily, it is in alphabetical order, so I just look in the area with last names that begin with a _H_.

Heartfilia… Heartfilia… I think as I scan through the names with my finger to make sure I don't miss one. Suddenly, my finger stops in this strange area. Where that last name is suppose to be… is blank. There is no name. I look over to the area where they are suppose to have the students' picture, but it is also blank. It is just an odd space that is left unoccupied.

That's odd. Why would the yearbook staff just leave a random blank space in the yearbook? However, there is only one name that I can think of that can go in that blank space. But… that can't be true. She never went to my school. This can't be right.

**Lucy Heartfilia.**

That is the only last name that can fit there.

But how? Lucy never went to my school…

_You are the man who forgot everything about me! _

Lucy's words echo through my head again. Why…? Why? How did I forget her?

I lay on my bed and for the first time in years, I cry heavily. Last time I cried like this was when Lisanna died. But for some reason, just a matter like this made my heart feel broken. Why did she reject me?

Why did she reject me if she also had mutual feelings for me?

And there, on my bed, I cry myself to sleep.

**OoO**

"Hey, you! Hey!" I hear an annoying voice. "Hey! Wake up! Wake up I tell you!"

"Wha…" I mutter.

"Wake up! It's about my sister!"

"Sister…?" I mutter. "What sister? You mean Wendy-"

"No! It's about Lucy-"

Immediately, I wake up. "Wait what about her?!" I say alarmingly, sitting up from my bed. When I see who is talking to me, my eyes widen. The person is a teenager with angelic blonde hair. His eyes are royal blue and he has a scar running on top of his right eye. He kind of looks familiar… like someone I know.

But… _who _is that? More like, how did this stranger get in my room?

"Who are you?!" I shout. I put myself in a defensive position. "Come any closer and I'll call my maids to call the police-"

"No!" the teenager cries. He looks about sixteen or seventeen. "Look, I'm here to clear your misunderstandings!"

Misunderstandings? Now that I look at this boy closely, I notice that he is glowing white. Why? Is he… an angel or something? Wait a second… I know why he looked like someone I knew! He kind of looked like the male version of Lucy! Except Lucy has chocolate brown eyes.

"You probably don't even remember that you can use magic, can you?" he says.

"What?" What kind of nonsense is he saying?

"Natsu Dragneel, son of the greatest dragon slayer, Igneel Dragneel," he says. "With your magic, you fought many times to save my sister."

"Your sister?" I ask. I don't have any idea about what he is saying. Since when have I saved someone? Is he trying to make me sound like some kind of hero in a fantasy?

"Gosh, you really did forget everything," Sting says, slamming the palm of his hand to his forehead. "Lucy of course! Lucy Heartfilia, your **lover**."

"Wait what?!" I say. Lover? _Lover_? So… Lucy wasn't kidding? Was I really this terrible man she was talking about? The one who completely erased her from his mind?

I was such a cruel person…?

"I'm sorry," the boy suddenly says. "I shouldn't have blamed you. This wasn't your fault that happened anyway." He stands up straight and looks at me. "I'm Sting Eucliffe, nice to meet you." He sticks out his hand.

I take his hand and shake it. "Er… I'm Natsu Dragneel… Well, I think you know that already."

Sting sits on my bed next to me and sighs. "So you are _at least _aware that you and Lucy were acquainted at some point as lovers, right?"

"Uh… yeah," I say, still confused. "Apparently…"

"Do you want to get your memories back?"

"What?"

"Memories," Sting repeated. "Do you want to get them back?"

Memories of Lucy… If I got them back, would Lucy be happy? That time she cried in anger at me for forgetting… I don't want to see her so distressed like that. She must have been hiding that frustration for so long after all. I want to remember our high school memories. I want to know everything. I want to see Lucy's true smile.

"What do I have to do?" I ask him.

Sting puts his hand on his chin. "We have to use magic that could even go against the universe's magic," he mutters. "Like… Rogue's dark magic."

"Rogue?" I ask. "Who is that-"

"You mean me?" a voice suddenly says, scaring me a bit.

I turn around to see another person. He is also glowing, but glowing in a gray-ish red color. He has bright ruby eyes that shine like a vampire's. He also seems to be a teenager, around sixteen.

"Ah Rogue," Sting says. "Do you think you could help Natsu get his memories back of Lucy?"

"Lucy…" Rogue says her name gently. He says her name as if he were in love. Well that irks me. What the hell is up with that? But… that must mean that he must know her somehow too.

Rogue looks at me with those red eyes. Crap. He does look pretty scary. He seems to be even glaring at me. He makes me feel inferior even though I am older than him.

He walks towards me with his creepy walk, still glaring. "I never really liked you," he says bluntly. "You stole Lucy from me after all."

Stole? What is he talking about?

"Sting," Rogue says as he examines my face, making me feel extremely awkward. "I think I might be able to restore his memories about Lucy, but I don't think I can restore his memories of you and me. I can only restore the memories of one person after all."

Eh? I had memories of these two people also?

"It's okay," Sting replies, although there is a bit sadness in his tone of voice. "As long as he remembers Lucy."

"Excuse me?" I say, allowing my curiosity get the better of me. "Who were you to me? Er… I mean, if I knew you in the past…"

Sting smiles at me and pats my back gently, saying nothing. His face seems to show the expression: _You don't need to know_. Then he turns to Rogue and nods.

Rogue bends down and does an odd stance. "Are you sure you want this?" he asks. "It will be extremely painful, probably the most pain you'll feel in your whole life. And I can't even guarantee that it will work since I am against the universe's magic after all."

In my whole life…? I gulp. Just the thought of that scares me. I can't believe this is actually happening though. Usually, I'd probably call the police by now, but for some reason… I feel like I recognize these people. Perhaps this is what Lucy calls _the mind forgets, but the body always remembers_.

"I'll do it," I say. "Even though it may not work, I'll do it! Because… I want to see Lucy's true smile."

For a split second, I swore I saw Rogue smile, but instantly he goes back to his stoic face. "I'm glad," he says. "That you were the one who Lucy fell in love with."

And with that, black shadows begin to envelope the two of us in a confined sphere. Immediately, pain disperses all over my body. "GAK!" I scream, grasping onto my head. What is this? My head hurts so much. Ugh… I can't even think.

"Please…" I hear Rogue mutter. "Make Lucy happy."

And with that, my body goes numb and my world turns black, making me unconscious.

**OoO**

"Hey!" a voice chirps. "Hey! Up and at' em Natsu!"

"Ugh… Shut up…" I mutter, taking my sheets and pulling them over my head.

"NATSU DRAGNEEL, WAKE UP!" the voice shouts loudly, pulling my sheets away.

"GYAH!" I shout. I get up and see Wendy, angrily looking at me. "What's with you, Wendy?! I'm trying to sleep-"

Suddenly, my head begins to ache. Ow… why…? I can't remember anything at the moment. What did I do last night anyway that made my head ache this much?

"Natsu? Are you okay? You look pale," Wendy says.

"It's nothing…" I mutter. "I'm just feeling sick."

"Oh… I'll tell your friend Lucy to go back home then-"

"Wait what?!" I say quickly, changing my mind. "Lucy is here?! I-I uh, am okay now! She can come in!"

Oh yeah, I remember. Yesterday, Lucy rejected me… even though we had mutual feelings. I still don't know why, but maybe now she will explain it all to me. She did say something weird after all… like saying immortal and that I forgot her or something like that.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierces through my head again. Ow… What is that?

"Um… Can I come in?" I hear a soft voice come out from the door. It is Lucy.

"O-Of course!" I exclaim as Wendy leaves my room with a certain wink. Damn my stupid twin sister.

I pat the side of my bed and she sits on it. "Hey," she says. "I… I'm sorry about yesterday… I just blurted out some random stuff… I hope you'll forgive me."

I ruffle her soft blonde hair. "Don't worry about it," I say to her with a soft chuckle.

Another sharp pain suddenly pierces my head again. But this time, it is worse than usual. It hurts so much that I can't even speak or think. The pain just keeps throbbing, with each throb becoming worse and worse.

"Hey!" Lucy exclaims. "Natsu are you okay?!" She takes my shoulders and shakes them over and over again. "Natsu!" she shouts. "Natsu! Nat… su! Nat… su… Nat…"

And soon my sense of hearing is shut off, and my vision turns black. And then… I see a myriad of colors.

What is this…? Images are running through my head like a filmstrip… And they all seem to be pictures of… Lucy. However, they are all odd. It seems to be Lucy, but she is younger, perhaps sixteen years old or so. She is also wearing my old high school's uniform, Fairy High.

After all the images play in fast speed, they all float above me. Every single one is young teenage Lucy. Why?

A boy with black clothes and red eyes walks up to me. Who is he again…?

Ah! I remember now! Rogue is his name! He tried to bring back my memories of Lucy!

"Natsu Dragneel," he says. He walks closer to me and puts his hand over my eyes. "Close your eyes."

As if it were my instinct, I close my eyes immediately without questioning. Within seconds, my world turns black again as the little pictures flow into my mind like a whirlwind.

I get memories from back to my junior year of high school, which I always thought I spent most of my time alone. But I was wrong. The reason why I thought that I didn't hang out with anyone was because I hung out mostly with Lucy… but I had forgotten everything.

Walking to school together because she was afraid to cross the street… Her secret cries whenever she got hurt… Her beautiful golden celestial magic she used to protect me… Her angelic smile that always made my day better… Her confession _I love you_ and her promise to come back… And our one and only kiss before she passed away.

I remember it all now. Every moment I spent with her… Every single detail… I remember her.

"Hey! Hey!" a familiar voice cries. "Natsu! Please wake up!"

That voice… Instantly, I am awakened from my nap to see her… Lucy.

"Natsu!" she cries happily when she sees that I am awake. "Oh my god… Thank god you're okay!"

I look around me. I am still in my room. "H-How long was I asleep for?"

"An hour or so," Lucy replies as she brushes her tears away. She hugs me tight. "Oh god… Don't ever scare me like that ever again!"

"Lu… Luce…" I say softly. I brush her blonde hair gently and hug her back tightly. "_I remember_."

Suddenly, Lucy stops hugging me and sits up straight. "H-Huh?!"

"I remember," I tell her again. "I remember our high school days together."

"Y-You…" Lucy's eyes begin to tear up. "Are you kidding…?

I shake my head and smile at her.

"T-Then, tell me about the fire at the art wing at Fairy High," she says.

"You were in the fire," I reply. "And I saved you."

Instantly, Lucy's eyes fill with tears as she hugs me tight. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god," she keeps repeating over and over again. "Is… Is this real? H-How?"

"This guy named Rogue Cheney and Sting Eucliffe appeared in my dream last night and somehow recovered my memories," I reply scratching my head. "Dunno who they are though. Do you know them? They seemed to know you well-"

I look at Lucy's face to see that she is crying. What…? Did I say something oversensitive?

"I-I… S-Sorry, Luce…" I say.

Lucy shakes her head. "No… I'm happy... Just so happy," she whispers as she puts her head on my shoulder. "Rogue, huh? Manipulator of the mind and shadows."

"Um… just curious," I say. "How did you come back to life? I mean, didn't you pass away seven years ago?"

"My brother Sting can manipulate the light," she says. "And because I wanted to come back so badly, he used the magic _Holy Ray_ to bring me back to Earthland with the same age as you and turned me a regular mortal. But that spell took him six years of magic… and because of me, he can no longer use his light magic."

"But…" I say. "He did it because he loved you, right? As a sister?"

Lucy nods, hooking her arm around mine. "Yeah," she says, allowing her tears to drip on my arm. "But I think it was also because he loved you, Natsu, as his best friend. And he really trusted you with me."

Best… friend…? Now that I think about it, Rogue did mention that he could only restore the memories of Lucy I had. Does that mean… I also have memories of them too? Was Sting my best friend? I can't remember. The only best friend I can ever remember having was Lucy in my junior year of high school.

"Hey… Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you again?" I say.

"What is it?"

"Will you go out with me?"

She looks at me with her beautiful fawn-like eyes. "I would have said yes even if you didn't get your memories back," she giggles.

I smirk as I hold her in my arms. "So is that a yes?"

"_**Yes**_."

**\- End of **_**The Immortal Princess**_ **-**

Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading this story! I really appreciate all of you! Thank you those who stuck to my story since the first chapter, and thank you to those who starting reading on the way. Writing this story has been so much fun and I hope that you all will continue reading my fanfics!

If you want to read my new Fairy Tail fanfic, please check my bio! It is titled _Ten Years_! This is the summary:

* * *

**Ten Years**

Sometimes, not every guy you meet is perfect. I, Lucy Heartfilia, learned that the hard way. I never thought falling in love would be this hard. I didn't think these feelings would last even after ten years. I didn't think of the consequences at all. My feelings still linger and... it still hurts. I still love you… Natsu.

* * *

It is a NALU story, so please read it if you are interested! So far there are two chapters, and I do plan on finishing it!

Again, thank you for reading _The Immortal Princess_! I really love all of you readers!

~ _**Metallic Snow**_


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